The Better Business Bureau has confirmed that illegal gambling is rife in the state of Missouri following news that online gambling will be available later this year.
Sports betting was legalised in the state in November 2024. However, both retail and online mobile sports betting are set to officially launch and be available on 1 December 2025.
Despite that, illegal gambling remains pervasive. The Bureau revealed that the number of scam tracker reports and complaints it has received on gambling have doubled since 2023.
Julie Wheeler, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, spoke to WDBJ7-TV in Virginia, explained the current situation: “When you consider online gambling there are gray sites, it’s not always black and white in terms of straight scams.
“Some of them are legitimate, some of them are kind of walking a line. It’s those ones we want people to pay attention to.”
Her advice for customers was to read the terms and conditions before signing up to any operators. “If they are asking you to pay through crypto, or promising things, there are scam trackers that you can report anonymously to let other people know what’s going on.
“We see that they want you to pay in Cryptocurrencies, linking bank accounts, making promises of big wins which is absolutely a red flag.”
Major moves in Missouri
The latest news this week from the state was significant, with the state regulator awarding two untethered sports betting licenses to DraftKings and Circa.
In a somewhat surprising decision, industry giants FanDuel were left to secure a tethered license by partnering with MLS football team St. Louis City SC, acquiring them as its in-state partner.
Missouri has the capacity for 14 licences with the major operators all looking to take advantage of this new market.
With the rise in scams in Missouri, official operator licences offering legal platforms to gamble could help to minimize such threats with key operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM all set to arrive on 1 December.
