The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) reported on Friday $543 million in sports betting handle for the inaugural month of December as most of the eight mobile operators turned the “Show Me State” into a battleground of promotional offers and free bets.
At least 23% of the total amount wagered — just over $125 million based on some operators reaching the maximum 25% allowed for promotional deductions — came from introductory offers that included free bets. FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for the bulk of that spend as the former provided $53.2 million in such offers and the latter countered with $48.5 million.
Bet365, which has been unafraid to be aggressive in states with simultaneous operator launches, stayed true to form in Missouri with a $14.4 million outlay and was the only other operator to feature an eight-figure spend.
The nationwide December trend of operators routing the public from NFL results coupled with the novelty of being able to wager on parlays for the first time led to Missouri quickly becoming the eighth state to surpass $100 million in monthly gross operator revenue in the post-PASPA era. Sportsbooks piled up $104.3 million in winnings, grafting a 19.2% hold.
While the collective adjustable gross revenue was negative-$20.8 million due to all the promotional play, the state still collected $521,200 in tax receipts for the opening month of business.
Hits and misses with projections
Prior to launch, InGame approximated first-month handle to be $425 million, with a high range of $450 million. The outcome exceeded the high range by roughly 20%.
Two things that did turn out as expected were the volume of promotional spend and who was behind the majority of it. It was not surprising the outlay reached $125 million, nor that FanDuel and DraftKings wheeled out the cannons and fired with little abandon. FanDuel went right up to the 25% maximum with its deductions; DraftKings was just short at 24.8%.
It was also expected bet365 would come out swinging. The $14.4 million outlay tracks with previous known spends in Kentucky ($21.4 million) and Ohio ($16 million) and was also the maximum 25% deduction allowed.
Bet365 emerged a clear No. 3 in handle for the month at $57.8 million, which was more than double fourth-place BetMGM’s $28.1 million. The question now for bet365 is how much is it willing to spend going forward to keep third given BetMGM and Fanatics are the most likely challengers for that final podium spot. BetMGM had a subdued outlay of nearly $1.9 million that was only 6.6% of total wagering.
It is unknown how much of the initial hiccups Fanatics had with its rollout impacted its promotional spend. The sportsbook that has spent much of the last two years grinding its way into being a No. 3 option in several states reported $4.1 million in promotional deductions. That appears to be its total spend in Missouri given it represents 17.9% of its $22.8 million in accepted wagers.
The parlay train plows through town
The first-month revenue haul for Missouri’s mobile sportsbooks was impacted not only by the outcomes of NFL games but the ongoing evolution of bettors who now gravitate to parlays more than ever.
Approximately 56% (14.4 million) of the 25.6 million wagers placed were multi-leg ones, and that total includes Fanatics reporting only 23 such wagers among its 531,300, per MGC figures. Nearly five out of every eight wagers placed through both bet365 and FanDuel were parlays, along with more than half of DraftKings’ bets.
The $213.5 million wagered accounted for 39.7% of all mobile handle, while the $74.2 million in winnings — resulting in an astronomical 34.8% hold — represented 71.8% of the digital revenue generated. Bettor carnage was widespread as FanDuel cleaned up with $33.9 million in revenue, DraftKings totaled $26.3 million, and bet365 edged into eight figures at $10.5 million.
All three operators had win rates of 30% or higher, paced by FanDuel reaching 36.3%. The six mobile sportsbooks that reported at least $1 million in parlay handle had holds of 24.1% or better.
