Amendment II becoming legal in Missouri but not effective for the Super Bowl

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Amendment II which is said to put tens of millions of dollars into the hands of Missouri Schools. 

This won’t go into effect until the beginning of the next football season. Voters approved the measure making sports betting legal in Missouri in November. 

On one of the biggest days in sports with a Kansas City 3 peat at stake, Missouri gamblers still had to find other ways to place their bets. 

Super Bowl Sunday where there are billions of dollars at stake for gamblers. 

Now Missouri is part of the 78% of the U.S. where it’s legal to place bets on sports. 

“So, the proposal, the rule that was passed allows for not only online sports wagering but also retail sports wagering. So, you can go to a location at a casino or at a professional sports venue and place a wager, or there will also be availability for online wagering as well,” said Lyle Randolph. 

If you hoped to place your bet in Missouri not so fast, Lyle Randolph of Century Casino in Cape Girardeau explains there’s a process to go through before gamblers can partake. 

“Sports wagering, there was a ballot initiative in November. And so, it passed, and the people of Missouri voted to approve sports wagering. Now it’s going through the rulemaking process and the policy process. And so, the Missouri Gaming Commission is working to develop those rules, and it will be launched prior to the start of football season, later this year. So late in summer,” said Randolph.

Under the new guidelines, regulators in Missouri launch sports betting by December 1, 2025.

Missourians will have to wait but others in the FOX 23 area like Marcus Dwyer have been placing bets since 2019. Dwyer lives in Illinois so he can bet but understands betting can be confusing and frustrating.

“I think it should be legalized just because I live in Illinois so I can gamble when I’m at home, but I work in Missouri, so when I’m at work I can’t gamble. But I know a lot of people in my work, a lot of people that gamble and they would drive to Illinois, park the car on the side of the road, like right past the bridge, and gamble on their phones,” said Dwyer. 

Dwyer says he’s excited to be able to place bets in Missouri but as a social media gambling influencer he has a word of caution. 

“You can get addicted pretty easily. Yeah. There’s a time where I would spend my whole paycheck and either double my paycheck or lose it all and just hope for it to be better the next time I get paid. And then, like, I went to my bank and I found out my daily limit, you know, in my daily limit. And once you spend your daily limit, you can’t, you can’t even buy something like a drink at a gas station until it hits midnight,” said Dwyer. 

Sports betting in Missouri opens up a room for these local Kansas City Chiefs fans to enjoy the game and gamble while being in their home state and not driving across the river.