Sports gaming operator Underdog has made its pitch for a sports betting license in Missouri by announcing a multi-year partnership with Kansas City Royals.
The two have already enjoyed a working relationship from a non-betting perspective, with Underdog acting as presenting partner for the Major League Baseball franchise’s popular Hot Dog Derby and Bark at the Park initiative.
Underdog applied for one of Missouri’s 13 tethered licenses in June, meaning they would need to have a sports betting partnership in place with one of the state’s 13 land-based casinos or six sporting franchises to be accepted.
This latest collaboration with the two-time World Series winners gives Underdog sports betting market access in Missouri, subject to regulatory approval from the Missouri Gaming Commission MGC).
It will also give Underdog further opportunities to increase engagement with sports fans in the region through joint marketing campaigns and philanthropic projects.
Sports Betting Coming To Missouri
Missouri’s electorate voted in favour of welcoming regulated sports betting to the Show-Me state late last year.
That has made it legal for people aged 21 and over to participate in sports betting in Missouri, with a proposed launch date for sportsbooks of December 1, 2025.
Subsequently, the MGC invited applications for betting companies to apply for one of two untethered licenses – being able to operate online without a land-based affiliation – and 13 tethered licenses.
DraftKings and Circa were awarded the two direct mobile sports betting licenses in August, while competitors have been busy allying themselves to land-based operations.
FanDuel opted for an association with Major League Soccer club St Louis CITY SC while Fanatics has partnered with Boyd Gaming, in a deal which will also see it open retail sportsbooks at Boyd’s Ameristar casinos in Kansas City and St Charles.
Underdog presently operates licensed sports betting in North Carolina while its fantasy sports offering is licensed across several US states.
This latest partnership with Kansas City Royals should open the door for Underdog to join the other sports betting operators who are ready for the Missouri market’s December 1 launch.
Executive Reaction To The Partnership
Stacie Stern, Underdog SVP of Government Affairs and Partnerships: “The Royals have forged a deep and authentic connection with baseball fans throughout the Kansas City region, in Missouri and beyond.
“We’ve built our products with the same approach – real, organic connection with sports fans to get to one goal: make sports more fun.
“We are going to work with the Royals to bring the best sports betting experience possible to fans in Missouri, while we continue to drive innovation in sports gaming and expand our product offerings in new states.”
Brooks Sherman, Kansas City Royals President of Business Operations: “The Royals look forward to continuing and enhancing our partnership with Underdog, which is our longest-standing relationship in sports gaming.
“We’ve partnered with them on some of our most engaging fan programs, like Bark at the Park and the Underdog Hot Dog Derby, and we look forward to working with Underdog to provide Royals fans throughout Missouri the opportunity to have even more fun while watching sports.”
Underdog Launching Sports Prediction Markets
At the start of this month, Underdog announced it was teaming up with Crypro.com to offer sports prediction markets.
The partnership was formed with Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA), an affiliate of the cryptocurrency company that is a registered exchange with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Under the terms of that collaboration, Underdog’s sports betting app will give users access to CDNA’s full range of sports events contracts across all major leagues, including the NFL, NBA and MLB.
It will be the first time that a prediction market exchange will be offered on a major sports gaming operator’s platform.
Jeremy Levine, Underdog founder and CEO, said: “Prediction markets are one of the most exciting developments we’ve seen in a long time.
“While still new and evolving, one thing is clear – the future of prediction markets is going to be about sports – and no one does sports better than Underdog.”
