JEFFERSON CITY, MO – September 3, 2026 (STL.News) Missouri Sports Betting – Missouri’s legal sports betting industry is eight months into operation, providing enough data to begin seeing how much residents are wagering, which sports attract the most money, and how much tax revenue the new industry is producing for the state.
The latest numbers show something that can initially appear contradictory.
Missouri bettors wagered approximately $246.8 million during July, the lowest monthly total since legal sports wagering began Dec. 1, 2025. Yet sportsbooks generated approximately $21.8 million in revenue, their strongest monthly performance to date, according to figures reported by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
State sports wagering taxes consequently rose to about $2.2 million in July, up from roughly $1.4 million in June.
The numbers demonstrate an important point about sports betting: the amount wagered is not the same thing as sportsbook revenue, and neither figure represents the amount Missouri receives in taxes.
Understanding those differences is essential when evaluating whether Missouri’s new sports betting industry is performing as voters and policymakers expected.
Missouri has already handled billions in wagers
Legal sports betting officially launched in Missouri on Dec. 1, 2025, after voters narrowly approved Amendment 2 in November 2024.
Missouri entered the market with both mobile and retail wagering, allowing eligible customers physically located in the state to place bets through licensed sportsbook applications and approved physical locations.
The market started quickly.
Missouri recorded approximately $543 million in wagers during December 2025, its first month of legal sports betting.
January produced another approximately $385.1 million in wagers.
The market then began settling into lower monthly totals.
According to Missouri sports wagering financial data, the approximate monthly handle has developed as follows:
- December 2025 — $543.0 million
- January 2026 — $385.1 million
- February — $277.0 million
- March — $329.4 million
- April — $273.4 million
- May — $256.4 million
- June — $258.3 million
- July — $246.8 million
Combined, those figures indicate that approximately $2.57 billion was wagered through Missouri’s regulated sports betting market during its first eight months.
That does not mean Missouri bettors lost $2.57 billion.
The figure is the betting handle, meaning the total value of wagers accepted by sportsbooks. Much of that money is ultimately returned to customers as winnings.
What remains with sportsbooks after paying winning wagers and applicable adjustments is a much smaller amount.
July provides an excellent example.
Missouri sportsbooks accepted approximately $246.8 million in wagers but generated about $21.8 million in revenue.
That translates into a hold of roughly 8.8%, meaning sportsbooks retained less than nine cents from every dollar wagered before considering other business expenses.
The relationship between handle and revenue can change dramatically from month to month because sporting results determine how much sportsbooks must pay winning customers.
In June, Missouri recorded approximately $258.3 million in wagers, but sportsbooks generated only about $13.7 million in revenue.
July wagering declined approximately 4.5%, yet sportsbook revenue increased roughly 59%.
In other words, Missourians wagered less money, but the month’s betting results were substantially more favorable to sportsbook operators.
Online betting dominates Missouri market
Perhaps the clearest trend emerging from Missouri’s first eight months is the overwhelming preference for mobile wagering.
Of July’s approximately $246.8 million total handle, about $243.5 million was wagered online.
Retail sportsbooks accounted for only approximately $3.3 million.
That means roughly 98.7% of July wagering occurred through mobile platforms.
The numbers illustrate how dramatically sports wagering has changed from the traditional casino sportsbook model.
For most customers, placing a legal wager no longer requires traveling to a casino, standing at a betting window or using a sportsbook kiosk.
A customer who meets Missouri’s legal requirements and is physically located within the state can generally place a wager from a smartphone after the sportsbook verifies the customer’s location.
Missouri currently has eight online sportsbook operators competing for those customers.
Competition among the operators has not been evenly distributed.
DraftKings led Missouri during July with approximately $108.8 million in betting handle, representing more than 40% of the state’s total wagering volume.
FanDuel ranked second with approximately $66.8 million.
Bet365 followed at approximately $21.3 million, while Fanatics recorded approximately $16.8 million and BetMGM approximately $16.7 million.
The figures show DraftKings and FanDuel holding a substantial portion of Missouri’s young sports betting market.
The sports calendar also heavily influenced July.
Baseball generated approximately $135.2 million in Missouri wagers during the month, making it the largest individual sports category.
Parlay wagering accounted for approximately $79.6 million, while soccer generated approximately $36.9 million.
Those categories can overlap within regulatory reporting structures, particularly when parlays include wagers across multiple sports, so they should not be added to calculate total handle.
How much is Missouri actually collecting?
The billions of dollars being wagered can make sports betting appear to be an enormous source of government revenue.
The actual tax collections are considerably smaller.
Missouri imposes a 10% tax on adjusted gross sports wagering revenue, rather than taxing total wagers.
That distinction matters.
If customers wager $250 million during a month, Missouri does not collect 10%, or $25 million, from those wagers.
Sportsbooks first pay winning bets and account for deductions permitted under Missouri’s regulatory framework. Taxes are then calculated using taxable adjusted gross revenue.
Missouri’s monthly tax collections have therefore varied substantially.
Early results were particularly unusual because sportsbook promotional activity and deductions contributed to negative adjusted gross revenue during the market’s first months.
December 2025 generated roughly $521,000 in sports wagering taxes.
January generated approximately $138,000.
Tax collections subsequently increased as the market matured.
February produced approximately $1.2 million, March approximately $2.18 million, April about $2.03 million, May approximately $2.13 million, June about $1.37 million, and July approximately $2.2 million.
The cumulative tax total is therefore only a small fraction of the approximately $2.57 billion wagered.
That difference is not necessarily evidence that the tax is malfunctioning. It reflects how Missouri’s tax structure was designed.
The state taxes sportsbook revenue, not every dollar cycling through betting accounts.
Football could dramatically change the numbers
July may ultimately represent the low point for Missouri’s 2026 betting handle.
The reason is simple: football.
July falls within one of the slower periods on the American sports calendar. Major League Baseball dominates much of the wagering schedule while the NFL and college football are absent.
That changes rapidly beginning in late August and September.
Missouri is entering its first full NFL and college football season with legal sports betting.
That could be particularly important in a state with the Kansas City Chiefs, an enormous college football audience, and major fan interest surrounding teams across Missouri and neighboring states.
The NFL traditionally generates enormous betting activity nationally, while college football adds hundreds of games to the weekly wagering schedule.
September will therefore provide one of the most important tests yet for Missouri’s new industry.
If wagering follows patterns established in more mature sports betting states, monthly handle could increase substantially as football season progresses.
Higher wagering volume does not automatically guarantee higher sportsbook revenue or higher state taxes, however.
If bettors perform particularly well, sportsbooks can generate relatively little revenue even during a month with enormous betting volume. Conversely, a lower-handle month can produce strong operator revenue when results favor the sportsbooks.
Missouri experienced precisely that dynamic between June and July.
Eight months reveal the size of Missouri’s betting market
Missouri’s first eight months of legal sports wagering provide a clearer picture than any single month’s results.
The market has demonstrated that residents are willing to wager billions of dollars through regulated sportsbooks.
It has also demonstrated that mobile betting is overwhelmingly the preferred method.
Approximately $2.57 billion in wagers during eight months is substantial economic activity, but it should not be confused with either sportsbook profits or government revenue.
Most of that money cycles back to customers through winning wagers.
Sportsbooks retain a fraction as gaming revenue, and Missouri taxes an adjusted portion of that revenue at 10%.
The next several months should provide an even better measure of the market’s long-term potential.
Missouri launched sports wagering after the 2025 football season was already well underway. The 2026 season is therefore the first opportunity to observe a complete autumn betting cycle involving college football and the NFL.
September, October and November figures will reveal whether Missouri’s approximately quarter-billion-dollar summer monthly market expands significantly when football dominates the sports calendar.
For now, July provides an unusual milestone.
Missourians wagered less than they had during any month since legalization, but sportsbooks had their best revenue month yet.
The approximately $246.8 million wagered, $21.8 million in sportsbook revenue, and $2.2 million in state sports wagering taxes demonstrate why all three figures must be considered separately when evaluating Missouri’s experiment with legalized sports betting.
And with football returning, Missouri’s biggest sports wagering months may still be ahead.
Responsible Gambling: Sports wagering involves financial risk and should be treated as entertainment, not a source of income. Missouri residents experiencing gambling-related problems can obtain information and assistance through state responsible-gambling resources.
