BetMGM Teams with Century Casinos Ahead of Missouri Sports Launch
BetMGM has found a partner to ensure it will be a part of sports betting this year in Missouri. They’ve partnered with Century Casinos and will be ready for the December 1st launch.
Missouri will soon launch legal sports betting. © Everett Dragert, Unsplash
Key Facts:
- Missouri passed sports betting last year and will launch on December 1st.
- Sports betting operators have until September 12th to find a partner.
- They must partner with either a retail casino or professional sports team.
- Two untethered licenses are also up for grabs.
Amendment 2 squeaked through a November vote by a margin of just a couple hundred votes. Interestingly, not a single state passed sports betting legislation this year, marking the first year since PASPA that there has been no nationwide expansion of sports betting.
As many as twenty-one licenses could be awarded, but if history is any guide, that number is likely to be smaller. First, because the Show-Me State only has a population of just over six million.
Secondly, many operators have learned the hard way just how expensive and difficult it is to compete in these markets against established players like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, amongst others.
New Jersey, with over 9 million people, once boasted 27 sports books; now, that number is 17 and declining every year. A reasonable estimate for Missouri is somewhere between twelve and fifteen books once the initial shakeout occurs.
Two untethered licenses will be awarded to those who don’t wish to find a partner, and then one each for the state’s six professional sports teams and 13 retail casinos. A mobile license fee will set you back $500,000, and the state tax rate is a very reasonable 10%.
Missouri is taking an entire year to implement its licensing and enforcement policies and procedures, currently anticipating a December 1st rollout, much to the consternation of both operators and eager bettors alike.
The December 1st date seems suspiciously timed to miss almost all College Football, including many bowl games over the Thanksgiving holiday and the bulk of the NFL season, where the Kansas City Chiefs are looking for revenge after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s Super Bowl.
This would have been the first college football season where Missouri residents could have placed a bet on local favorites like the Mizzou Tigers. Not that you should mind you, but you could. But they will likely have to wait for basketball season now.
BetMGM partnered with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, when Kansas, just across the river from Arrowhead Stadium, legalized sports betting. During games, signage has been up for at least the last couple of seasons.
Amendment 2 specified that sports betting would be allowed in adjacent areas to sports facilities, opening up the possibility that a BetMGM retail sportsbook could be located on the property. However, both MGM and the Chiefs have been quiet about the possibility.
Why Century Casinos, and Why Now?
This makes this week’s announcement that BetMGM would partner with Century Casinos out of Cape Girardeau a bit odd. This is one of the first agreements announced, as the cut-off date isn’t until the middle of September. It does guarantee BetMGM a seat at the table, but wouldn’t they have wanted to broaden their existing deal with the Chiefs?
It’s possible that this might still happen; perhaps the deal with Century was at a revenue share so low that they felt they couldn’t pass it up, and it would provide them with better leverage in working out a deal with the Chiefs. They can sit back and see what happens by locking it in early.
Perhaps the team that has won three Super Bowls in the past five years received a better offer, or possibly negotiations are still ongoing. The only thing we know for reasonably certain is that BetMGM will be taking bets on the Chiefs this December; it’s just a question of whether those bets will be all online or some of them will be made right there in the Stadium.
