Kansas City Chiefs Fuel Sports Betting in Missouri’s First Week

Missouri’s sports betting market launched on Dec. 1, and since then, fans have eagerly awaited the opportunity to place their first bets on the home NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Residents in the Missouri sports betting market showed up to bet on the Chiefs on home soil, however, the home side lost 20-10 to the visiting Houston Texans.

Before legal sports betting launched, residents had already been crossing into neighboring states like Kansas to place their wagers. Now, in the first few days since the launch, it’s clear from the increased traffic at retail sportsbooks and the steady influx of new online sign-ups at Missouri sports betting apps that sports betting is popular in the state.

Casinos, fan venues, and digital platforms remained busy throughout launch week, especially when major games were in play. Missouri’s large base of pro and college sports fans helped fuel that early wave of interest. Operators reported noticeable spikes in activity around big matchups as a result. There were plenty of lucrative Missouri sportsbook promos for bettors to choose from.

Taken together, those early indicators showed that regulated sports betting was already influencing how people placed bets and beginning to shift wagering habits across the region. 

BetMGM spokesperson John Ewing told local media outlet KMBC News that app sign-ups and activations increased significantly during the first week, particularly when the Chiefs were playing. "The Chiefs to win the Super Bowl and win the AFC have been the most bets since we've gone live in Missouri on Monday," he said. 

Missouri's regulatory structure requires operators to submit full monthly financial statements to the Missouri Gaming Commission. The agency will verify figures and publish the state's first sports betting revenue report, covering 1–31 December 2025, in early 2026.

Geolocation data underscores strong participation

Operator reports of strong engagement matched what regulators were seeing in the early days. The Missouri Gaming Commission even called the rollout “successful,” citing the high level of activity on newly licensed platforms.

GeoComply, the company handling geolocation services for several sportsbooks, logged more than 2.6 million location checks within Missouri during the first 24 hours, a number that underscored just how busy launch day was.

The firm also recorded over 250,000 active Missouri sports betting accounts as of Dec. 1, illustrating the growing interest among eligible users.

GeoComply CEO Kip Levin called the opening period "remarkable," adding, "Tens of thousands of Missourians immediately joined safe, regulated platforms the moment they became legal. It’s a powerful reminder of how quickly consumers embrace a well-regulated market when the option finally exists." 

Missouri became the 39th state to authorize legal sports wagering and the first to implement a launch in 2025, following the rollout of North Carolina sports betting in March 2024.

The collaboration between operators, regulators, and tech suppliers has already indicated a strong initial adoption rate for Missouri sports betting. With the first month's reporting due in January of next year, the industry will get its first look at how this market performs.