ESPN Bet Applies for Missouri Sports Betting License

ESPN Bet is the latest among many sportsbooks to apply for a license to conduct its mobile sports betting operations in the Show Me State. The launch is only a few months away, and Penn Entertainment’s mobile sports betting entry wants to be part of Missouri’s new industry.

Missouri’s Long Wait Is Almost Over

Mobile sports betting in Missouri is almost here, despite intractable legislative gridlock, a costly PR campaign, several hundred thousand signatures, and a spot on the November ballot where voters narrowly approved sports betting. December 1, 2025, is the launch date for mobile sports betting in Missouri, and it can’t come soon enough for those seeking to get down with a licensed sportsbook.

ESPN Bet is the latest to apply for a license, which will be tethered to one of its parent company’s Missouri casinos, including Hollywood Casino and River City Casino. The state’s two untethered licenses were announced in August when DraftKings and Circa Sports were awarded those coveted licenses, which allow those platforms to operate without sharing their proceeds with one of the six professional sports teams in the state or one of Missouri’s many casinos.

FanDuel, the frontrunner to gain one of the two untethered licenses, came up short and has subsequently partnered with a soccer team, St. Louis City SC. Several of the other industry players have partnered up, including Caesars, teaming with its Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St. Louis, while Fanatics has signed an agreement with Boyd Gaming and its Boyd’s Ameristar locations in Kansas City and St. Charles.

Penn Opening Retail Sportsbooks in Missouri

Penn Entertainment has made its proverbial bones in the casino business, and with its St. Louis-based Hollywood Casino St. Louis and River City Casino establishments, there lie two opportunities to create retail sportsbooks.

And it wasn’t long ago that Penn Entertainment released advertisements seeking sportsbook managers in the area, leading industry observers to correctly predict that its mobile sportsbook, ESPN Bet, would be making its way to the Show Me State.

Licensing and Launch Timeline

However, the company needs to get approved for a license in Missouri, which, at this point, appears to be a mere formality, but before they do, no sports betting of any kind will be allowed until the license is awarded and the industry is launched on December 1st of this year.

Ryan Butler, a gaming industry insider, posted the following on X: “PENN is hiring Sportsbook Managers at its River City and Hollywood Casinos near St. Louis, per recent job postings, a clear sign it will open ESPN BET retail books at each property; company also has direct market access to launch ESPN BET mobile book in Missouri as early as Dec. 1”

Penn’s mobile sports betting venture, ESPN Bet, has not gone as planned, and it has led to a marked decline in the value of the stock, which has resulted in investor unrest. ESPN Bet and ESPN have less than a year before the opt-out clauses are available on their 10-year, $2 billion pact. Whether Penn stays in the mobile sports betting game under ESPN Bet or builds another brand on its own is anyone’s guess.