Missouri’s sports betting launch sparks excitement, but concerns loom over addiction, harassment, game integrity
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Inside a Jefferson City conference room, fewer than a dozen people have been creating hundreds of pages of rules that could help shape Missouri’s future.
The Missouri Gaming Commission refers to it as the “war room,” and it’s where the groundwork is being laid for the state’s journey into legalized sports betting. Sports betting is expected to generate millions in revenue for Missouri, but it also carries risks that could have lasting consequences.
Building the framework for legalized sports betting
After voters passed the gambling initiative last November, the Missouri Gaming Commission was tasked with translating the petition’s language into rules.
A team of about six commission staff members was tasked with building the state’s sports wagering framework from the ground up. Every detail, from how companies apply to how violations are enforced, had to be written into law before anyone could seek a license.
“Whenever you're creating something from scratch, basically, they have to look at every facet of the application process and what will be required from the applicants. And all of those rules for discipline when people don't follow the rules and all of those things,” Missouri Gaming Commission Chairman Jan Zimmerman said.
To help shape Missouri’s rules, commission staff visited nearby states where sports wagering had already been legalized to learn what worked and what didn’t.
“If there's any advantage to being relatively late to the game, it was exactly that,” Zimmerman said. “Our staff had the opportunity to go to those places where sports wagering was already taking place and had been for a number of years, depending on where you went, to ask those folks, you know, what is working and what's not. We really benefited from the experience and expertise of gaming commissions in other states telling us, ‘Hey, this worked really well for us,' or 'This didn't work so well for us.’ And so our staff absolutely did their homework.”
Before companies could begin applying for licenses, every rule had to be approved by the commission. Only then could applications start rolling in — and when they did, they came fast. More than 2,000 applications have now come in from companies, people, sports teams and other organizations that will be a part of legal sports betting, Zimmerman said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is required to vet those applications.
The application review process is extensive, involving financial background checks and criminal history screenings.
“In a perfect world, we would get all of the right information the first time, but that hardly ever happens,” Zimmerman said. “So, you know, many times the staff is reaching back out to the applicant to ask for a document that they've missed or some information that they need to check into further.”
Missouri’s system includes two types of licenses — tethered and untethered.
The difference between tethered and untethered licenses applies only to operators, not bettors. Untethered operators are not required to share revenue with a casino or sports team, while tethered operators must share sports-wagering revenue with the partner linked to their license.
Under the initiative petition, the state can issue two untethered licenses. FanDuel, DraftKings and Circa all applied; DraftKings and Circa ultimately received them.
The lengthy setup process is why the first legal sports bets in Missouri won’t be placed until Dec. 1, when wagering officially goes live. But the timing could play in the state’s favor.
Revenue projections and market impact
Missouri isn’t stepping into an untouched market.
Missouri bettors have been crossing state lines to place wagers just minutes away. The state stands to reclaim an estimated $8 million in lost tax dollars that currently flow into Kansas and Illinois, where many Missouri fans already cross the border to place bets.
“Kansas officials said a couple of years ago that their revenue will decline once Missouri legalized sports betting,” Milica Ilic, a content editor for Sports Handle, a website that covers the U.S. wagering industry, said. “I mean, it's no secret that many people from Missouri have already been placing bets in both Kansas and in Illinois.”
The Dec. 1 launch date could also fuel a strong debut for Missouri.
“The timing is ideal for sportsbooks because the launch comes during the NFL, NBA, NHL season and that period from November to March is typically when people bet the most,” Ilica said.
Industry analysis from Sports Handle projects that Missouri could generate between $220 million and $370 million in wagers during its first month, producing about $22 million to $41 million in operator revenue.
Comparisons to Maryland, which launched mobile betting in November 2022, offer a benchmark. With a similar population and gambling appetite, Maryland’s first month produced about $219 million in handle, or roughly $35 per person, a realistic target for Missouri’s debut.
“There's been all kinds of predictions, and I'm not a predictor. But, you just hear numbers all the way from $25 million all the way up to $100 million in the original advertisements. So I'm going to wait and see,” Zimmerman said.
Tax rates could play a factor. Kansas legalized sports betting in 2022, generating more than $1.85 billion in wagers in its first year and collecting $7.6 million in taxes at a 10% rate. By comparison, Illinois’ 15% tax rate brought in more than $142 million last year. Missouri sits squarely between those two markets and is now hoping to keep both bettors and their dollars closer to home.
Missouri's 10% tax rate, like Kansas, puts it among the lowest, Ilic explained.
“Only Nevada, Michigan, and Iowa have a lower tax rate,” Ilic said. “It mostly affects payouts on winning bets and also promotions, which is very important for this topic. So, low tax rates in Missouri's case will probably mean that sportsbooks will be generous with their promotional bonuses, and that means that they will probably attract more players.”
Midwest sports betting tax revenue by Matthew SandersThe growing risks of gambling addiction
Sportsbooks rely heavily on promotional bonuses to draw in bettors. But as wagering becomes mainstream, leagues and betting firms are cashing in while evidence mounts of a deepening public health crisis around gambling addiction.
“I certainly respect the right of state voters, including ours, to make up their own minds on this. I'm a skeptic, though. I will just tell you I'm concerned about the consequences here,” U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley told ABC 17 News. “ I'm worried here about what the consequences are downstream on families, on the game itself, collegiate athletics, young athletes. I hope that policymakers in the state are keeping a close eye on that.”
Because sports betting falls under interstate commerce but is largely left to individual states, Hawley said there may be limited room for a federal role in regulating it under the Constitution.
Since the federal ban on sports betting was overturned in 2018, the legal U.S. sports-betting market has exploded. At the same time, professional sports leagues have struck partnerships and licensing deals with sportsbooks and data companies, transforming what was once a sideline of fandom into a full-blown business ecosystem.
The NFL now reportedly earns about $132 million annually from gambling-related sponsorships, a figure that rivals the revenue of adding two entirely new teams to the league. In addition, the league sells real-time data and analytics to sportsbooks, further expanding its revenue streams.
At the same time, betting operators are spending heavily to acquire customers. One study found national television ad spending by sportsbooks rose to roughly $314.6 million in 2022 alone, a 1,300% increase over 2019.
While profits soar, the toll on individuals and communities is mounting. According to a researcher at UCLA, states that legalized online sports betting saw a 28% increase in consumer bankruptcies and an 8% increase in debt collections compared to states that did not legalize it. The study also found average credit scores fell by 0.3%, and the drop was higher in states permitting mobile betting.
Young men appear to be disproportionately affected. A 2024 study from Fairleigh Dickinson found that about 10% of young men in the United States exhibit behaviors associated with problem gambling, compared with roughly 3% of the general population.
Sportsbooks often target these high-risk customers. Major operators such as DraftKings have faced lawsuits accusing them of using “VIP hosts” to encourage high-spending bettors to keep wagering, even when those bettors showed clear signs of addiction and had already lost thousands of dollars on the platform.
However, the Missouri Gaming Commission said that some of these concerns about predatory gaming practices were addressed in DraftKings' application process.
“All three of them [DraftKings, FanDuel and Circa] did an excellent job in showing what their problem gambling programs and different applications that they had if you were using their platform, how they address problem gambling and what services they offer to folks if they feel like problem gambling is an issue,” Zimmerman said. “I know that the public, especially the non-gambling public, worries about gambling addiction and worries about what services are going to be provided to individuals who may experience problem gambling. We have a great relationship with Health and Human Services.”
The marketing saturation is omnipresent. In one study of major broadcasts, gambling marketing occurred as frequently as every 13 seconds in prime-time sports games.
Another dimension fueling this cycle: In-game betting, where fans place bets during the game as the action unfolds. Sports leagues increasingly benefit when fans are more engaged for longer stretches, because it means more viewership, more ad impressions and higher rights fees.
But Zimmerman says more revenue will mean more resources to help make up for increased issues.
“Obviously, a significant part of the money that would be raised from sports wagering will be made available to them to establish more aggressive problem gambling programs. So, I'm sure everyone will be watching to see as that money is passed through to those programs, to see what services they're offering. If folks experience problem gambling issues,” Zimmerman said.
But addiction is just one of the inherent risks as gambling expands.
Integrity at risk: Game-fixing and harassment
The consequences of prop bets and in-game wagering extend beyond the bettors themselves; it also affects the athletes who become the focus of those wagers.
Former Cardinals manager Mike Schildt cited death threats from sports bettors as one of the reasons he retired as the San Diego Padres manager at the end of the 2025 season.
He’s one of many players and coaches who have faced harassment and even threats from angry fans on social media after busted parlays or lost bets. The NCAA reported that 1-in-3 high-profile athletes receive abusive messages from sports bettors.
The emergence of sports betting has also threatened the integrity of the game.
In October, the FBI made 34 arrests, including Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, in connection with an insider sports-betting scheme.
According to investigators, Jones was accused of providing nonpublic injury information to bettors. Rozier allegedly tipped off his childhood friend Deniro Laster that he would leave a March 23, 2023, game in New Orleans early due to “foot discomfort.” Prosecutors say that information allowed Laster to place and cash hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers on Rozier’s “under” prop bets.
This comes after Columbia native and University of Missouri alumnus Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA after a league investigation determined he had bet on games involving his own team, the Toronto Raptors, and shared private injury information with sports gamblers.
This could be just the tip of the iceberg, and the scandals aren’t just limited to the NBA.
On Nov. 9, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in an illegal pitch-rigging scheme. Prosecutors say Clase also helped facilitate parts of the operation.
According to the indictment, the two pitchers conspired to intentionally throw balls during certain MLB games to profit from wagers placed on whether specific pitches would be balls or strikes. If convicted, both men could face up to 65 years in prison.
NCAA and University of Missouri confront new realities
Concerns about gambling and its impact on student-athletes have grown since the NCAA allowed student-athletes to bet on professional sports. The decision comes as legalized sports betting is just months away from launching in Missouri and marks a departure from the NCAA’s long-standing prohibition on sports wagering.
In September, the NCAA Committee on Infractions released its first cases involving former men’s basketball student-athletes at Fresno State, who bet on their own games and, in some instances, manipulated outcomes. Enforcement staff are pursuing similar allegations against 13 student-athletes from Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley, with additional investigations ongoing.
At the University of Missouri, officials are monitoring gambling-related risks for their athletes. Pam Brunzina, a former All-American track and cross-country student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin, serves as MU’s faculty athletics representative to the NCAA and SEC. The role acts as a liaison between athletics and the academic side of campus, with three primary responsibilities: Ensuring institutional control, maintaining academic integrity and safeguarding student-athlete well-being. She reports directly to UM System President Mun Choi.
Brunzina said concerns emerged once the NCAA legalized professional sports betting for student-athletes.
“Integrity of the game, people point shaving -- you're doing other things to affect the outcome of the game. That’s a big concern, one the NCAA is of course focused on,” Brunzina said. “But then there's other types of harm that can more directly impact student athletes. They can be pressured to give inside information about their team. They can be harassed for not performing and impacting other people’s wagers. We've seen a lot of that. The NCAA actually did a study on that the past couple of years, looking at harassment of student athletes, particularly around the basketball tournaments, and it can be pretty ugly.”
Even though betting on player props for Missouri collegiate teams is not allowed under state law, Brunzina says there have been isolated incidents of Mizzou athletes being harassed due to sports wagering.
“I think it's important for all of us to remember that when we are watching the student athletes compete, that they are young people out there doing their best,” Brunzina said. “Even if we have a bet that's dependent on their performance, we need to remember that they are trying their hardest and to have some perspective.”
Brunzina said because athletes are receiving name, image and likeness money, many view them as fair game to be targeted online.
“I do think that for some people, there is maybe just a shift in mentality of viewing them, the student athletes, more as professional athletes and maybe having a little bit different attitude or expectation of them and forgetting that they are college students, performing at a really high level. But they aren’t really professionals,” Brunzina said.
But it’s not just harassment the University is concerned about. Bruzina said sports wagering addiction can also grip student athletes.
These concerns are only intensified with the money earned through NIL deals and revenue sharing.
“We are also concerned with the legalization that some student athletes with NIL and revenue sharing will have a significant amount of money,” Brunzina said. “We are really concerned that, you know, they don't lose it in an irresponsible way.”
Accruing a large gambling debt is one of the ways student-athletes often get lured into point shaving schemes.
Brunzina recounted one story of a football player who, after an injury, wagered online while stuck at home, chasing losses until he owed a substantial amount of money.
“That's usually where people get into a lot of trouble," Brunzina said. "They get in over their head and then just keep sort of putting more money after it, or beholden to somebody else, and a way to pay back a debt is through affecting the outcome of a game.”
Brunzina explained that the NCAA has made education on sports wagering a top priority under President Charlie Baker. The NCAA Sports Science Institute has developed a range of resources for athletic staff, administrators, and student-athletes, including webinars and materials that athletic departments can implement locally. The NCAA has also funded programs like Epic, which brings in former student-athletes who experienced issues like point shaving to share their stories and educate current athletes on the harms of sports wagering.
The Southeastern Conference requires schools to use Prohibet, a system that monitors unethical or illegal gambling activity. In March, the University of Texas athletic department self-reported five NCAA violations dating to 2024 after Prohibet flagged issues involving two football players, a tennis staff member, a student assistant and an athletic department employee.
According to Brunzina, the University of Missouri is discussing additional protections, though nothing has been finalized. These concerns aren’t going away anytime soon. Brunzina, who serves as president of the Faculty Athletics Association, said sports wagering was a major focus of last year’s annual meeting.
“The point that the faculty athletics reps made, however, is that you can have the harm reduction approach without deregulation of the professional wagering,” Brunzina said.
Hawley echoed the cautionary stance.
“Count me a skeptic,” Hawley said. “ I think that there's a lot of dangers with it, particularly that involve younger athletes and younger people, but just a lot of dangers across the board.”
