Months after applying for an operator’s license in Missouri, Underdog has revealed its access partner in the newest U.S. online sports wagering market.
The sportsbook and fantasy operator announced a multi-year partnership with the MLB’s Kansas City Royals which includes market access for licensed sports betting as well as a range of marketing campaigns and philanthropic efforts.
The two parties already have a longstanding non-sports-betting partnership.
“The Royals have forged a deep and authentic connection with baseball fans throughout the Kansas City region, in Missouri and beyond,” said Underdog SVP of Government Affairs and Partnerships Stacie Stern. “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.”
“The Royals look forward to continuing and enhancing our partnership with Underdog, which is our longest-standing relationship in sports gaming,” said Royals President of Business Operations Brooks Sherman. “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.”
Operators show us their Show-Me State partnerships
Underdog was one of the first two operators to apply to the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) for a license, officially throwing its hat into the ring for a tethered license back in June along with DraftKings.
Stern told SBC Americas soon after Underdog applied that it has a longstanding and collaborative relationship with the MGC, including working with the commission to secure licensure for its fantasy sports offerings in the state. \
“We’ve submitted a strong application for a sports betting license and look forward to continuing to work closely with the Commission throughout the review process,” added Stern at the time.
Tethered licenses require a gaming operator to partner and share revenue with either a pro sports team or an existing land-based casino in the state. Major League Soccer team St. Louis City teamed up with FanDuel and the St. Louis Cardinals struck a partnership with bet365. Elsewhere, BetMGM put a deal with Century Casinos in place in May, Caesars and PENN Entertainment have access through their own Missouri brick-and-mortar casinos and Fanatics has partnered with Boyd Gaming.
The NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs are among the Missouri teams not yet attached to a sportsbook market access partner. They remain available for Missouri partnerships, despite neighboring Kansas‘ best efforts to get them to move over the border.
DraftKings and Circa Sports were awarded Missouri’s two available untethered licenses by the MGC in August. The regulator still has to review all the other applicants and will issue temporary licenses on Oct. 22 ahead of the planned Dec. 1 market launch.
Underdog goes walkies into event contracts
Underdog, which calls itself the fastest-growing sports company in the U.S., currently operates sports betting only in North Carolina, although it has secured licenses to launch in Colorado and Ohio.
It hit headlines at the start of September when it revealed itself as the first sportsbook operator to take active involvement in offering sports event contracts, partnering with Crypto.com to offer markets on its app in 16 states, reportedly primarily ones where online sports wagering has not been legalized.
