Missouri Horse Racing Betting
Missouri horse racing betting laws permit pari-mutuel horse racing wagering, but no race tracks or off-track betting facilities (OTBs) are open to customers today. As a result, online horse racing betting is the only avenue for fans to bet on horses in Missouri.
Missouri Horse Racing Betting Sites
Twinspires exited the Missouri horse racing betting market on January 31st, 2024. At this time, we are unaware of any legal online horse racing betting sites that accept Missouri bettors. We will update this page as soon as the situation changes.
Unfortunately, there are no horse racing betting sites that currently accept Missouri bettors. The nation’s most reputable operator, TwinSpires, exited the market in early 2024 and no longer offers advance deposit wagering in Missouri.
No other mainstream horse racing betting sites accept Missouri customers due to unclear state laws on advance deposit wagering (online betting).
Missouri Horse Race Tracks
Missouri has no active horse racetracks, so opportunities to watch live horse races are rare, and chances to place pari-mutuel wagers in-person are nonexistent.
The lack of any real horse racing industry in Missouri persists despite a measure approved by voters in 1984 authorizing parimutuel wagering at race tracks. A large majority of voters approved the ballot measure, and the state even established the Missouri Horse Racing Commission.
However, lawmakers approved a restrictive horse racing law that only allows simulcasting for the same number of days that live racing is held at that track. This law hampered the financial viability of would-be race tracks and deterred developers from investing in the construction of a track anywhere in the state.
A bill to authorize year-round simulcast racing in Missouri was introduced in 2002 and failed before becoming law. The costs of hosting live races combined with increased competition from actual casinos make the long-term survival of a racetrack unlikely without year-round simulcasting or approval to offer on-premises casino games.
Missouri Off-Track Betting Locations
Missouri law explicitly prohibits off-track betting. As a result, Missouri does not have off-track betting facilities (OTBs).
MO Rev Stat § 313.660 prohibits all parimutuel wagering that does not occur at a track. The applicable statute reads as follows:
Off-track wagering prohibited, penalty. — 1. No individual shall for a fee, directly or indirectly, accept anything of value to be wagered or to be transmitted or delivered for wager in any pari-mutuel system of wagering on horse racing or for a fee deliver anything of value which has been received outside of the enclosure of a race track holding a horse race licensed under sections 313.500 to 313.710 to be placed as wagers in the pari-mutuel pool within such enclosure.
2. Any individual violating the provisions of this section shall upon conviction be guilty of a class D felony.
Missouri Online Horse Racing Betting Law
Missouri law is vague on the legality of advance-deposit wagering. The law that prohibits off-track betting (see above) may apply to online horse racing wagering, but the law isn’t clear in that regard.
Most horse racing betting sites do not accept Missouri customers due to the legal uncertainty.
Missouri Horse Racing Betting FAQ
Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher and analyst in the legal gambling industry and is co-founder of BettingUSA.com. As a former professional online poker player, Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.