Underdog is preparing to offer Missouri sports betting after agreeing to a market access deal with the Kansas City Royals.
Underdog, which announced the deal Monday, would gain MO sports betting access later this year, pending regulatory approval. The Missouri Gaming Commission is slated to issue temporary approvals in late October for the Dec. 1 midnight launch.
“The Royals have forged a deep and authentic connection with baseball fans throughout the Kansas City region, in Missouri and beyond,” said Stacie Stern, Underdog’s senior VP of government affairs and partnerships. “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.”
Royals extend longtime partnership
The Royals and Underdog are already familiar partners. The operator has previously sponsored in-stadium promotions like “Bark at the Park” and the “Underdog Hot Dog Derby.”
The new agreement extends that relationship into regulated wagering and includes marketing and philanthropic initiatives.
The partnership does not call for a retail sportsbook at Kauffman Stadium, according to people familiar with the arrangement, with the focus instead on digital betting and fan engagement.
Missouri sports betting timeline
Missouri legalized sports betting in late 2024 after years of gridlock in the statehouse, joining its border rivals in the regulated market.
State law allows each of the 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to partner with one online sportsbook, in addition to two “untethered” licenses. DraftKings and Circa Sports claimed those two spots in August.
Other teams and casinos have already struck access deals:
- bet365 with the St. Louis Cardinals
- BetMGM with Century Casinos
- Caesars through its casino
- ESPN Bet through its parent company Penn Entertainment’s casino
- Fanatics with Boyd Gaming
- FanDuel with St. Louis City SC
Underdog expands sports betting
Underdog launched in 2020 as a fantasy sports operator but has steadily expanded into traditional sports betting. It is currently live with a sportsbook in North Carolina and has secured additional licenses in Ohio and Colorado.
At the same time, Underdog continues to run fantasy contests in dozens of states, including Missouri. It has also made waves this year by venturing into sports event contracts through a partnership with Crypto.com.
Regulators in Arizona and Ohio have warned that activity could jeopardize traditional betting and fantasy licenses.
