With sports betting set to launch in Missouri later this year, the Kansas City Royals announced a new partnership.
One of Missouri’s two Major League Baseball franchises announced a sports betting partnership with Underdog Fantasy on Monday. The multi-year deal includes market access for licensed online sports betting, as well as a range of marketing campaigns and philanthropic efforts.
Underdog currently has a pending sports betting license application under review by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
“The Royals have forged a deep and authentic connection with baseball fans throughout the Kansas City region, in Missouri and beyond,” said Underdog senior vice president 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.”
Partnership Helps Expand Entry Into Sports Betting
The move appears to be part of an approach by Underdog to expand beyond fantasy sports. Underdog also offers licensed sports betting in North Carolina and holds fantasy sports licenses in other states around the country.
The company uses its own proprietary technology to offer pick’em style fantasy sports and wagering. The new agreement comes after Underdog partnered with the Royals and the past, and the new deal builds on that.
“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 watching sports.”
Missouri voters approved legal sports betting through a ballot initiative in November 2024. The market is expected to launch by Dec. 1.
Regulators recently awarded DraftKings and Circa Sports the state’s two “untethered” licenses. As a result, the other licensees must partner with one of the state’s pro sports franchises or casinos. FanDuel inked a deal with St. Louis City SC, the state’s Major League Soccer franchise.
