Look down the list of active Missouri sports betting licenses and partnerships, and it’s not hard to notice that the Kansas City Chiefs have yet to partner up with a sportsbook operator. Now Sen. Nick Schroer has proposed a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the NFL franchise’s opportunity to get a piece of the Show-Me State sports betting pie.
In December, the Chiefs announced plans to build a new domed stadium. The only problem is that the new venue is being built on the other side of the Missouri-Kansas border. SJR 109 proposes that the Chiefs’ Missouri sports betting rights be revoked.
Granted, nothing is expected to change anytime soon. It still needs approval from the House and the Senate. If this step is successful, it would be put to a public vote. Missouri voters could see it as a ballot question in November’s general election.
The state’s sports betting law allows the Missouri Gaming Commission to award one sports betting license to each professional sports team located within state lines. The Chiefs do have a marketing partnership with BetMGM Sportsbook, but it’s a marketing deal. BetMGM Sportsbook was part of the Missouri sports betting launch, but the operator’s sports betting partnership is with Century Casinos.
As far as partnerships with Missouri pro sports teams go, bet365 has a sports betting deal with the St. Louis Cardinals and FanDuel Sportsbook is linked up with St. Louis City FC. Neither franchise has a pending deal to build a stadium in Kansas. While Underdog dropped its Missouri sports betting plans, the company’s Missouri sports betting license was connected with the Kansas City Royals.
Under the current constitutional provisions, “professional sports teams” are defined as “a team located in the state that is a member of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, or the National Women’s Soccer League for the purpose of conducting sports wagering in the state.
“This constitutional amendment, if approved by the voters, removes members of the National Football League from such definition.”
No matter how SJR plays out, other than the eight Missouri sportsbooks that are live, other operators have yet to publicly announce plans to enter the newest U.S. sports betting market.
Missouri sports betting regulations allow for up to 14 mobile sports betting licenses. Hard Rock Bet, Bally Bet, and BetRivers are a few of the potential brands that could eventually fill one of those available slots. Bally’s, for example, wouldn’t need to partner with a pro sports team due to having a land-based Kansas City casino.
Should any new operator decide to partner with a Missouri pro sports team, the St. Louis Blues, Royals, and the NWSL’s Kansas City Current would all be possibilities outside of the Chiefs.
The Chiefs might have missed the playoffs this season, but they have a storied NFL history. Kansas City has played in five out of the last six Super Bowls, winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy three times, the most recent being the 2023 season. Last February, they lost Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Every season, the AFC champion is awarded the Lamar Hunt Trophy. Hunt founded the Chiefs as well as the American Football League that later merged with the NFL. In 1967, the Chiefs lost Super Bowl I 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers coached by Vince Lombardi. The Hunt family still owns the Chiefs, with Clark Hunt, grandson of the late Lamar Hunt, serving as chairman and CEO.
Now it’s about building a new chapter as Arrowhead Stadium, which has been the Chiefs’ home since 1972, is one of the NFL’s oldest venues. Soldier Field in Chicago (1924) and Green Bay’s Lambeau Field (1957) are the only NFL stadiums that have been around longer.
The 2031 season is when the Chiefs are expected to start playing in neighboring Kansas. The $3-billion stadium will be located in Wyandotte County. The team headquarters and training facility will be built in the City of Olathe, which is part of Johnson County.
When the Chiefs announced the new project, Clark Hunt described it as “an extraordinary day in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs.”
