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After being passed over for a coveted untethered sports betting license in Missouri, FanDuel Sportsbook quickly found a partner in order to secure operations within the state. FanDuel has announced it is partnering with St. Louis City SC of MLS. 

"Missouri is home to some of the most passionate sports fans in the country, and we are thrilled to partner with St. Louis CITY SC to introduce our industry leading product to the Show Me State," Mike Raffensperger, President of Sports at FanDuel, said in a news release announcing the partnership. "We look forward to supporting the team and engaging with the community as we bring America's #1 Sportsbook to fans across Missouri."  

Sports betting in Missouri will kick off by Dec. 1 of this year. Missouri voters approved sports betting last November by a very narrow margin. For a while, it was unclear which sportsbooks would and wouldn't operate in the state, and which licenses those sportsbooks would have. 

Missouri has just two untethered licenses, which allow for sportsbooks to operate in the state without partnering with either an in-state professional team or casino. Three sportsbooks applied for these two licenses, one of which was FanDuel. FanDuel was the odd man out in that competition, as the state awarded those licenses to DraftKings Sportsbook and Circa. While many expected FanDuel and DraftKings to get the two licenses given that they're the two biggest online sportsbooks in the country, Circa instead got the nod over FanDuel.

FanDuel thus had to pivot, which it did with the partnership with St Louis City SC, one of two MLS franchises in Missouri. For sportsbooks that didn't get an untethered license and don't want to partner with a casino, they need to partner instead with a professional team in the state. With this partnership, FanDuel can open a retail sportsbook either within or next to St. Louis City SC's stadium. This year has been a tough one for St. Louis City SC, which is 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference with a 5-6-15 record.

While FanDuel has not yet taken any bets in Missouri, it's hardly unfamiliar with the territory. FanDuel operates in five of Missouri's eight bordering states, including Kansas.