Is Missouri Ready for Sports Betting? Addiction Experts Say, ‘No’
Posted on: September 16, 2025, 11:49h.
Last updated on: September 16, 2025, 12:03h.
- Missouri sportsbooks are set to go live on Dec. 1, 2025
- Addiction experts don’t think Missouri is ready to handle an expected surge in gambling addiction
- Missourians authorized sports gambling through a 2024 constitutional ballot referendum
Sports betting in Missouri will begin on Dec. 1, 2025. Some say the state isn’t properly prepared for the consequences.
The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) is set to allow 10 sportsbooks to begin taking bets on the first day of December.
The books that are expected to receive temporary sports wagering licenses to commence operations on that day include bet365, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Circa Sports, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, Kambi, and Underdog Sports.
Missouri voters last fall narrowly authorized a statewide ballot referendum to allow retail and online sports betting by fewer than 3,000 votes. Public health officials say while some consumers are eager to field legal sports betting channels, the state isn’t properly prepared for the societal consequences that come with more gaming.
Sports Betting Problems
Speaking with St. Louis Public Radio, an affiliate of NPR, Keith Spare, the chair of the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling, says the state is ill-equipped to handle an expected influx of problem gamblers seeking help.
With sports betting, you’ll be able to place a bet from your bedroom, your living room chair, your car in the parking lot, on break at work, literally anytime of the day or night,” said Spare.
Spare says about 60% of Missourians already gamble, and 20% of them meet the criteria for a gambling disorder. Missouri is home to 13 riverboat and land-based casinos.
The convenience of gambling through online sports betting will increase those rates, some believe.
The ease of placing a bet at home, on the internet, which I use daily, and most people do these days, or placing a bet on my phone, would certainly make it easier for the progression of the condition to worsen quickly,” said Daniel Smith, the former clinical director of the BetNoMore Gambling Programs at Assessment & Counseling Solutions in St. Louis.
Smith says many counselors who field problem gamblers seeking help are inadequately trained in gambling disorders.
“The biggest problem that occurs with someone seeking help is that they go to a well-meaning counselor who doesn’t know anything about gambling,” Smith said.
Last month, Casino.org reported on a study from the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health that found the legalization of sports betting in the commonwealth increased problem gambling rates by more than 7%. Many problem gamblers in the Bay State reported family and relationship struggles, along with issues paying their bills, because of their gambling addiction.
Missouri Sports Betting Program
Missouri’s sports betting law requires that sportsbooks share 10% of their gross revenue with the state. The first $5 million the state receives each year from sports betting will go to the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund.
The fund supports Missouri’s Problem Gambling Helpline (888-BETS-OFF/888-238-7633), a 24/7, 365 days a week problem gambling support, resource, and referral program.
The money is also used to support the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling, Gamblers Anonymous, and the administration of the MGC’s Voluntary Exclusion Program.
Last Comments ( 1 )
Truly experienced gambling addiction experts truly believe "You can never bet too much on a winner!" Members of the Gamblers Anonymous fellowship will heartily agree that it was their own best thinking that got them there.