Despite sports betting bump from World Cup, Missouri sees second-lowest monthly total in taxable revenue
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri schools are finally starting to see money from the state’s sports betting industry, which was legalized in December.
According to Liz Hoffman of the Missouri Gaming Commission, $1.084 million was transferred to the Sports Wagering Education Fund on June 9, marking the first distribution to education since sports betting was legalized.
An additional $2.129 million was transferred Thursday, bringing the total amount allocated to education to $3.213 million during the 2026 fiscal year.
After seeing a drop in sports wagering in January, Missouri Gaming Commission Commissioner Mike Leara told ABC 17 News in March the state was expecting to see a wagering spike during the World Cup.
Recent figures from the Missouri Gaming Commission show sportsbooks accepted $258.3 million in wagers in June, which included the World Cup and NBA Finals.
Of that total, $21 million came from soccer wagers, a roughly 900% increase from May. Overall wagering increased from $252.5 million in May, but June still marked the second-lowest monthly total since sports betting was legalized.
Despite the increase in wagering, taxable revenue fell sharply. Missouri generated $20 million in taxable revenue in May, compared with $13.6 million in June after $244.5 million was deducted for player winnings, promotional wagers and federal taxes.
However, Ryan Butler, a senior news analyst at Covers.com, said promotional and free World Cup bets were not the only reason taxable revenue declined in June. Financial disclosures also showed bettors had a particularly strong month on DraftKings and FanDuel, as several heavy favorites, including Argentina, England, France and Spain, advanced to the semifinals.
“The bettors did very well. A lot of favorites did very well. The U.S., especially we're talking June before the collapse, but everyone just bet on the U.S. No one bet against them. So them winning helped a lot, especially when they played so well early on. And then just favorites kept on winning, which is a huge deal,” Butler said. “Traditionally and almost always, when favorites and overs hit, that is bad for the sportsbooks good for the bettors. Bettors just love to bet on favorites and they love to bet overs.”
Butler added the NBA Finals also worked against sportsbooks, particularly with the New York Knicks attracting significant betting interest.
“We also had the NBA Finals, and you have the Knicks, now maybe not as big a deal in Missouri, but still there's more Knicks fans than Spurs fans. A lot of people are betting on the Knicks. Them, winning absolutely hurts as well," he said.
DraftKings accounted for the largest share of wagering volume, with $103.4 million in gross revenue in June. The sportsbook generated $5.7 million of the state's $13.6 million in taxable revenue.
When sports betting appeared on the ballot in Missouri, one of its most-vocal supporters was the group Winning for Missouri Education. The group estimated the measure would generate about $100 million in tax revenue over five years.
Under the amendment, a 10% tax is applied to sports betting revenue and directed toward education. However, operators are allowed to deduct certain expenses and must also contribute to the compulsive gambling prevention fund before taxable revenue is calculated. The ballot language also allows for the possibility that no money would go to schools if taxable revenue is too low.
Butler warned that the final months of summer will likely bring some of the lowest sports betting volume of the year. However, he said Missouri could see a smaller drop than other states with legal sports betting because of the state's two MLB teams.
While Butler expects betting volume to dip in July and August, he projects Missouri could see some of its highest numbers to date beginning in the fall.
“Football is going to be huge. September will be the biggest month ever for Missouri sports betting, besides maybe December, which is a little bit of an abnormality because of all the launches. September is going to be absolutely huge,” Butler said. “October is going to be even bigger. November, December will also be big. Again, December 2025 will always be an outlier. But in those four months coming up September, October, November, December will be the four-biggest months for betting in Missouri history.”
