The Nov. 5 public vote in Missouri to legalize sports betting was certified on Thursday, according to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

Pending any potential request for a vote recount, sports betting will begin in Missouri no later than Dec. 1, 2025, for people age 21 and over. The Missouri Gaming Commission is tasked with issuing sports betting operator licenses. 

Sports betting will be allowed in person at sportsbooks and on mobile devices such as cell phones. The state’s major sports teams and 13 casinos will be permitted to offer sports betting. The commission also will be allowed to license two additional mobile sports betting operators.  

‘The People Have Spoken’ 

The Board of State Canvassers—Ashcroft, Judge Jon Beetem and Judge Daniel Green—on Thursday certified the Nov. 5 general election results. 

“The people have spoken,” Ashcroft said in a statement. “With November’s results now official, we are pleased to have completed another election cycle.” 

With nearly three million people voting on the sports betting ballot question, the “yes” votes in favor of sports betting ended up 2,934 votes ahead of the “no” votes, said JoDonn Chaney, the secretary of state’s spokesman.

Any person or group seeking a recount has seven days from Thursday to make a request, Chaney said, adding that the groups that campaigned for and against the sports betting constitutional amendment indicated they would not seek a recount. If a request comes in, however, the secretary of state’s office has 20 days to conduct a recount.

As of Thursday, a recount request seemed unlikely, Chaney said.

“It’s a done deal,” Chaney told Gambling.com. “The election has been certified. It’s now approved.”

Missouri is the 39th state to legalize sports betting. Sports betting also is legal in Washington, D.C. Every state bordering Missouri, except Oklahoma, has legal sports betting.