Underdog’s long awaited market access partner in the Show-Me State has finally been revealed
The Kansas City Royals have partnered with Underdog to provide sports betting access to the operator
Underdog has a sports betting application pending with the Missouri Gaming Commission
The final Missouri sports betting market access partnership has fallen into place.
Underdog announced today an official partnership with the Kansas City Royals to provide the gaming company with access to the Show-Me State’s pending sports betting market. The company has a pending sports betting license application with the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Missouri sports betting is set to launch on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m.
Strong Fantasy Presence Already in Missouri
Underdog has offered daily fantasy sports products in the Show-Me State for the last several years and hopes to translate its success into a new sports betting market. Underdog currently offers online sports betting in North Carolina and holds a license to do so in Ohio.
The company was the last to reveal its market access partner in Missouri.
“The Royals have forged a deep and authentic connection with baseball fans throughout the Kansas City region, in Missouri and beyond,” said Stacie Stern, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Partnerships at Underdog. “We’ve built our products with the same approach – real, organic connection with sports fans to get to one goal: make sports more fun. We are going to work with the Royals to bring the best sports betting experience possible to fans in Missouri, while we continue to drive innovation in sports gaming and expand our product offerings in new states.”
Under the state’s sports betting legislation, each professional sports franchise and land-based casino will be eligible for one retail sports betting license and one online sports betting license. Each individual team and casino will also be able to partner with up to one online sports betting operator.
The commission will be allowed to issue up to 19 retail sports betting licenses and up to 14 online sports betting licenses under the approved framework.
An Underdog representative reported there are no plans for a brick-and-mortar sportsbook at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals, right now through the partnership.
“The Royals look forward to continuing and enhancing our partnership with Underdog, which is our longest-standing relationship in sports gaming,” said Brooks Sherman, Royals President of Business Operations. “We’ve partnered with them on some of our most engaging fan programs, like Bark at the Park and the Underdog Hot Dog Derby, and we look forward to working with Underdog to provide Royals fans throughout Missouri the opportunity to have even more fun while watching sports.”
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Busy Missouri Sports Betting Market
The Missouri Gaming Commission has already awarded two untethered licenses, the state’s first sports betting licenses, to DraftKings and Circa Sports. The Missouri Gaming Commission recently revealed it will have to wade through 1,113 total sports betting-related license applications before the start date.
While DraftKings and Circa Sports have been awarded untethered online sports betting licenses, seven additional operators have submitted applications to join the future Missouri sports betting market.
These operators are:
BetMGM
bet365
FanDuel
Fanatics Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
ESPN BET
Underdog