The post Missouri Sports Betting Could See Up to $370M Handle in First Month appeared first on SportsHandle.

With Missouri finally opening its legal sports betting market on December 1, 2025, the timing could hardly be better. The Chiefs are chasing another playoff run, sportsbooks have Kansas City as the favorite to win the Super Bowl despite a rocky start to the 2025 season, and thousands of fans who once crossed into Kansas or Illinois to place bets will now be able to wager at home.

Our analysis – informed by launch experiences in states like Maryland, North Carolina, and Ohio – suggests Missouri could generate between $220 million and $370 million in wagers during its first month, producing around $22 million to $41 million in operator revenue.

These Missouri handle projections were calculated by the performance in similar states and scaling them accordingly to Missouri’s population.

Why Missouri’s Sports Betting Debut Will Be Different

Missouri doesn’t enter the market in a vacuum. Residents have long fueled cross-border betting, especially in Kansas City, MO, where fans drive minutes across the state line to place wagers. Kansas regulators even admitted in 2022 that a significant portion of their early betting volume came directly from Missouri. With nine sportsbooks ready on Day 1 – bet365, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, ESPN BET, Underdog Sports, and Circa Sports  – that money now stays in-state.

The timing also works in Missouri’s favor. December brings the NFL regular season, college football bowl games, and midseason action in the NBA and NHL. It’s a calendar built for betting, and Missouri is stepping in just as those markets peak.

Approved Missouri Sportsbooks

Learning from Other States

Missouri’s launch can be better understood by looking at the successes and challenges of other states:

• Colorado and Illinois (2020): Both markets opened under extraordinary conditions. Colorado debuted with most professional sports shut down, while Illinois slowed adoption with in‑person registration requirements. Their sluggish starts show what happens when timing and rules hold a market back.

• Maryland (Nov 2022): With nearly identical population size and similar gambling appetite, Maryland is the clearest mirror for Missouri. Its first mobile month produced ~$219M in handle, or about $35 per person — a realistic baseline for Missouri’s opening month.

• North Carolina (Mar 2024): A polished, modern rollout with lighter promotions and a timely March Madness boost. Handle hit $659M, or about $60 per person, setting a strong “modern peer” benchmark. If Missouri performs similarly to North Carolina, it could generate $370M when scaled to Missouri’s current population.

• Ohio (Jan 2023): The outlier case. Operators poured unprecedented bonus offers into a January launch that coincided with the NFL playoffs. Ohio shattered records with $1.1B in first‑month handle (~$94 per person). Missouri is unlikely to match that promo‑fueled spike (which would equate to $590M(, but it illustrates the upper ceiling of what’s possible.

Missouri Month-1 Forecast (December 2025)

The most realistic range for Missouri’s first month is $220M–$370M in handle and $22M-41M in gross revenue. Colorado and Illinois represent outdated floor cases, while Ohio remains an unlikely ceiling inflated by promotions.

The Chiefs Factor

No forecast in Missouri is complete without considering the potential impact of the Chiefs. The reigning powerhouse of the NFL is both the pride of the state and the driver of betting interest. Sportsbooks currently list Kansas City as the favorite to win the 2026 Super Bowl, as the team seems to have found its footing after losing its first two games and having below a .500 early on. That disconnect – strong betting faith against a middling record – could supercharge handle as fans rush to back the Chiefs.

If Patrick Mahomes leads another deep playoff run, Missouri’s launch will not just capture returning border traffic but also ignite a surge of local bets tied directly to the Chiefs’ quest for another Lombardi Trophy.

Credit:
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Bottom Line

Missouri enters the sports betting market at the right time, with the right operators, and with the right storylines. Based on comparable states, the first month (Dec 2025) could generate $220M-$370M in handle and $22M–$41M in revenue.

Whether Missouri leans closer to Maryland’s steady baseline or North Carolina’s modern surge will depend on one unpredictable but powerful factor: how long the Chiefs can keep their Super Bowl dream alive.

Methodology

This forecast was developed by comparing Missouri to states with similar population size, gambling appetite, and launch conditions. We drew from several key resources to shape this forecast:

• LandingTree research (2023): Provided data on per-capita lottery spending, helping measure Missouri’s gambling appetite compared to other states.

• SmileHub research: Supplied insights into Missouri residents’ interest in sports and betting, which guided assumptions about market enthusiasm.

• SportsHandle state data hub: Delivered official handle and revenue figures for every state launch, with data compiled from state gambling commissions. This was the foundation for our per-capita comparisons and contextual notes on launch timing and circumstances.

We then calculated per-capita handle and gross revenue for each benchmark state and scaled those figures to Missouri’s population (~6.25M). Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) was modeled with a modern industry hold rate of 10–11%, reflecting today’s more sustainable promotional environment.

By placing Missouri within this spectrum, the projection balances optimistic scenarios (border recapture, strong Chiefs season) with conservative cases (lower promo spend, slower adoption), yielding a forecast range rather than a single figure.

The post Missouri Sports Betting Could See Up to $370M Handle in First Month appeared first on SportsHandle.