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Many of the top sportsbooks have been applying for untethered licenses in the state of Missouri ahead of legal sports betting launching later this year, and we now know who those two operators will be. It was revealed Friday, Aug. 15, that DraftKings has earned one of the state's two untethered licenses, which means it will not have to partner with a professional sports team or casino in the state. Many expected FanDuel to get the second untethered license as it's the nation's top sportsbook in terms of betting handle and revenue, but instead, that has gone to Circa, a Nevada-based operator.

Missouri sports betting was approved by voters by a narrow margin last November with the declaration that it must launch by Dec. 1 of this year. While there had been a push to speed up the start date, especially with the NFL season kicking off in early September, that Dec. 1 deadline instead appears to be the day that sports betting will begin. 

The two untethered licenses were commodities for top sportsbooks, with DraftKings, FanDuel, Circa and others competing for them. With untethered licenses, sportsbooks can operate in the state independent of any casino or professional sports teams. If a sportsbook doesn't have an untethered license and wants to operate in Missouri, it has to partner either with a casino or a professional team, which have dedicated "districts." The St. Louis Cardinals have already partnered with bet365, for instance. The deadline to apply for a tethered license is Sept. 12, which is now what FanDuel will have to do if it wants to operate in Missouri. 

In total, 14 sportsbooks are expected to operate in the state between DraftKings and Circa's untethered licenses and other tethered licenses with casino and team partnerships. Caesars and Bally Bet both have casinos in the state, so that should be an easy transition for their sportsbooks, and ESPN BET is expected to operate at Argosy Riverside Casino, River City Casino and Hollywood Casino St. Louis. BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbook are both expected to operate in the state of Missouri as well.