On December 1, 2025, Missouri officially joined the ranks of states permitting legal sports betting, marking a significant milestone both for the state and the rapidly expanding U.S. gambling industry. With this move, Missouri became the 39th state—plus the District of Columbia—to allow at least some form of legalized sports wagering, according to the Associated Press. The launch comes amid a national surge in sports betting, but also at a moment when high-profile scandals and regulatory debates are casting a long shadow over the industry’s growth.
Missouri’s debut into the world of legal sports betting is not without its own unique twists. While fans can now wager on everything from NFL touchdowns to NBA three-pointers, there’s a notable caveat: proposition bets, or "prop bets," on Missouri college or university athletes are strictly off-limits. This means gamblers can’t bet on how many points a Missouri Tiger might score or how many rebounds a Billiken might grab. The restriction, which is less sweeping than outright bans in some other states, reflects a growing concern over the integrity of college sports as gambling becomes more mainstream.
The timing of Missouri’s rollout is especially striking given the spate of scandals that have recently rocked the sports world. In the weeks leading up to the launch, two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were charged with accepting bribes to influence the outcome of specific pitches. An NBA player was arrested on allegations of providing inside information to gamblers, and the NCAA revoked the eligibility of six men’s college basketball players accused of manipulating their performance to impact bets. Each of these incidents, as reported by the Associated Press, centered around prop bets—a type of wager that focuses on individual player achievements rather than the final outcome of the game.
So, what exactly are prop bets, and why are they drawing so much attention? For many fans, prop bets offer a way to stay engaged with games, allowing them to wager on whether a baseball pitcher will notch a certain number of strikeouts, or if a basketball player will reach a particular points and rebounds tally. According to Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications at the American Gaming Association, prop bets are "an increasingly popular way in which to provide for engagement for any type of fan."
The popularity of these wagers is undeniable. During a one-month period this past summer, prop bets made up more than half of all wagers on one of the largest sports betting platforms in West Virginia, said Brad Humphreys, an economics professor and director of the Center for Gaming Research and Development at West Virginia University. Most of these bets were part of parlays, where multiple wagers are grouped together, increasing both the risk and the potential payout.
This surge in betting activity has translated into record profits for operators. Sports betting companies took in over $11 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 alone, up more than 13% from the same period last year, according to data from the American Gaming Association. But with the boom comes heightened scrutiny. Some experts warn that prop bets, which "speed up the ability to make multiple bets," can increase the risk of gambling addiction, said Rachel Volberg, a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Recognizing these risks, Missouri has earmarked at least $5 million annually from its sports betting program to fund problem gambling services. While most states allocate some resources to address gambling addiction, the scale and effectiveness of these efforts vary widely.
When it comes to prop bets on college athletes, there’s no national standard. Some states have no restrictions, while others ban all such bets. Missouri’s approach is somewhere in the middle, prohibiting prop bets only on in-state college teams. This restriction was included in the constitutional amendment that authorized sports betting, which narrowly passed after a record-setting $43 million campaign—funded almost entirely by DraftKings and FanDuel, the industry’s leading platforms.
Jack Cardetti, a spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance, which supported Missouri’s amendment, explained, "We thought this was a good middle ground that had worked in other states and that would uphold the integrity of the games here." Cardetti and others in the industry argue that a blanket ban on prop bets would likely push bettors into illegal and unregulated markets, where oversight is minimal and risks are higher.
Still, some experts are skeptical that Missouri’s tailored restrictions will have much impact in an age when anyone with a smartphone can place bets across state lines. Nathan Novemsky, a marketing and psychology professor at Yale University, put it bluntly: "That’s going to be a Band-Aid on a dam that’s breaking here, because folks will just make those bets on other teams."
Regulating the burgeoning industry is no small feat. The Missouri Gaming Commission currently has just three employees dedicated to sports betting oversight, though it’s looking to hire a fourth, according to commission chair Jan Zimmerman. The heavy lifting of detecting fraudulent bets, however, falls largely to the betting operators themselves, who work in tandem with sports leagues and law enforcement.
In response to the recent scandals, Major League Baseball announced a new agreement with leading sportsbooks to cap bets on individual pitches at $200 and to exclude such wagers from parlays. These changes, along with the criminal charges and player penalties, are "a demonstration that the market is really working as intended," said Maloney of the American Gaming Association.
For many Missouri residents, the arrival of legal sports betting is a welcome relief. Brett Koenig, a suburban St. Louis resident, previously drove 45 minutes across the Mississippi River into Illinois just to place a legal bet. Others from the Kansas City area would cross into Kansas, pulling over at the first exit to use their smartphones. Now, Koenig is looking forward to betting on Monday night’s NFL game from the comfort of his own home, possibly placing a prop bet if the odds are right. "It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time," he said. "I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to do it, and to not have to drive 45 minutes across the river."
As Missouri steps onto the national stage of legal sports betting, it does so with both optimism and caution. The industry’s explosive growth, coupled with recent scandals, ensures that the debate over regulation, integrity, and responsible gambling is far from over. For now, though, the state’s bettors are settling in for the next big game—no road trip required.
