Missouri is an interesting mix of laws permissive of certain types of gambling, while other forms are banned and frowned upon. Online gambling in Missouri finds itself on the forbidden side of the US online gambling laws. Find the information about real play slots for MO. Missouri Legal online casinos provide players with an exciting gaming experience that can only be found at the top online casinos. Luckily for Missouri players, legal online casinos in Missouri can be found a dime a dozen. No matter what your gaming preference may be, Missouri online casinos have a little something for everyone.

Missouri is a state defined by its geography. No state is more synonymous with its waterways than the Show Me State. The Mississippi and Missouri rivers define the eastern and a portion of the western borders of the state. Mark Twain, one of Missouri’s most famous residents, took his pen name from a cry often heard on riverboats.

Fittingly, Missouri’s casino scene is entirely based on its rivers. Missourians have the option of playing their favorite games at 13 riverboats along these two waterways. The laws also allow for artificial moats or bodies of water, which has allowed for some rather reaching interpretations of what constitutes a riverboat. However, declining casino revenue in Missouri is causing concern for decision-makers in the state.

One way to change things is by introducing sports betting. Recently, a pair of bills to legalize wagering within state borders were introduced in the state Senate. However, the elephant in the room appears to be who should regulate, the Missouri Lottery Commission or the Missouri Gaming Commission. Lawmakers will also have to determine is the infamous “integrity fee” should be part of any sports wagering bill.

While there are numerous hurdles before any type of bets can be placed, Missourians can be glad the conversations have at least begun.

Sweepstakes casinos in Missouri

Social casino options

All the expected social casino options are available in Missouri. Double Down, Zynga, Slotomania, and Big Fish all operate through Facebook or mobile devices. Missourians can also play the MyVegas app. This allows them to earn actual casino comps at MGM properties. Though no MGM properties exist in Missouri, it’s still nice to have the option to earn real rewards.

Finally, as with all Penn National properties, they offer a free option to try out their slot machines online. This utility is strictly for entertainment. However it can provide players with a sneak preview of the games they’ll find at Argosy or Hollywood casinos.

Online gambling

Like many states, Missouri does not expressly codify whether online gambling is permitted. As such, online gambling exists in a sort of gray area.

Missourians can access some of the offshore sites available (though not all – the Merge network is notably restricted). But because Missouri law is so specific to riverboat gambling, it is a dodgy enterprise to try to use these sites. At any point, the powers that be could decide that the current law covers and prohibits online gambling and crack down on players. Some of the state’s lawmakers have made negative comments toward online gambling, so tread lightly.

Likely online gambling operators

State casino operator history

Missouri’s first movement into gaming occurred with the legalization of charitable gambling in 1980, which allowed the debut of bingo halls and raffles in the state. Then, in 1986 voters adopted the state lottery with a 70 percent approval rating. Gaming’s popularity was accelerating in the Show Me State, and in 1992 the first gaming law was approved to allow riverboat gambling.

However, this law was eventually struck down by state courts as improper because changes to the notion of “games of chance” could only be done by amending the state constitution. For many ballot initiatives, a loss in court spells the end of the push for the measure. But Missouri remained undaunted and two years later, in 1994, the Missouri Riverboat Gambling Amendment passed a referendum with 54 percent of the vote.

The amendment permitted the legislature to allow operators on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to offer all manner of slot machines, table games, poker, and other games of chance. A subsequent amendment in 1998 allowed for the possibility of creating artificial moats or ponds to support riverboat play. This has created the odd situation of buildings with fake smokestacks and other accoutrements nominally being called riverboats, even though they are not seaworthy in any sense. Often, the water upon which they rest is little more than a shallow pool or pond. Operators have even poked fun at this distinction, going so far (in one case) of proudly filling the moat with an open fire hydrant.

However, the lawmakers in the state have shown no desire to check this sort of hubris. Although some residents are grumbling about this use of a loophole in the birthplace of Mark Twain. Nevertheless, Missouri enjoys the services of 13 riverboat casinos, including locations directly in the middle of its largest cities.

Casino locations

Kansas City, Missouri’s largest, has two casinos within its limits and two more in suburban areas. St. Louis, the second largest, also has two casinos in its city proper and two others not far away. Three of the other properties hug the eastern border of Missouri and allow access to residents of southwestern Illinois (including Springfield), western Kentucky, western Tennessee (including Memphis), and northeastern Arkansas. A final location, Isle of Capri Boonville, resides on the east-west bend of the Missouri River. This location cuts through the waistline of the state and serves central Missourians, including residents of Columbia, Missouri’s fifth largest city.

Most of the main operators in Missouri are known for operating other regional casinos, outside of the typical locales (like Las Vegas or Atlantic City). Pinnacle Entertainment owns and operates the two largest casinos in the state under its Ameristar brand. Its Kansas City location features 140,000 square feet of gaming space, with 2,200 slot machines, 66 table games, and a 16-table poker room. The St. Louis location is only slightly smaller. It has 130,000 square feet of casino to use and its poker room is actually three tables larger. Both Ameristar properties are scheduled to host tournaments on the Heartland Poker Tour. The St. Louis location hosted two events in 2017.

Interestingly enough, it is illegal for someone to identify themselves as a “professional player” in the state of Missouri. The statute defines a professional player as someone who gambles for their livelihood or derives 20 percent or more of their income in any one year of the last five from gambling. This statute might have some implications beyond in-state gambling, too, however, because of the uncertainty associated with a Missouri resident scoring a big win, either at slots, table games, or poker tournaments.

Casino revenue

The 2017 fiscal year disclosure shows an overall reduction in state casino revenues of 2.5 percent from the previous year. Furthermore, the contribution from gambling revenue to education (one of the selling points of legalizing gambling in many states) seems to be no better than the adjustments expected from inflation.

Several education officials in the state chafe at the idea that education in Missouri is tied to the fortunes of the gaming industry, especially since schools are still suffering budget shortfalls. The proliferation of nearby casinos is also hurting the Missouri properties’ bottom lines.

That said, there is no reason to suspect that Missouri casinos are going away. Late in 2016, Inner Circle Investmentsannounced its intention to open a casino and expo center in St. Joseph. While a reduction in revenue did occur in the last year, the pullback followed a 7 percent increase in revenue from 2015 to 2016. So, Missouri’s casino market, 11th largest in the US, should be fine. It will continue to offer options to residents and visitors alike. Below is a list of all the Missouri casinos.

Riverboat casinos in Missouri

*Craps (C), Blackjack (BJ), Roulette (R), Baccarat (B), Poker (P), Slots (S), Mini-Baccarat (MBac), Pai Gow Poker (PGP), Pai Gow Tiles (PGT), Let It Ride (LR), Caribbean Stud Poker (CS), Crazy 4 Poker (C4), 3 Card Poker (3C), 4 Card Poker (4C), Ultimate Texas Hold’em (UTH), High Card Flush (HCF), Mississippi Stud (MS), Texas Hold’em Bonus (THB), Big Six Wheel (B6)

State legal environment

There is a long history of people willing to play casino games in the state of Missouri, with a predisposition towards gambling in its multiple forms, but also containing stories which reveal a darker side of gambling. Perhaps, these tales of misconduct are the main reason behind the strict laws on illegal gambling that Missouri holds. But even so, there is no denying of the authentic experiences that the riverboat casinos in Missouri, bring along into our time. Missouri is an interesting mix of laws permissive of certain types of gambling, while other forms are banned and frowned upon. Online gambling in Missouri finds itself on the forbidden side of the US online gambling laws. Find the information about real play slots for MO residents and much more in this guide.

Best Missouri Online Casino Sites

Contents

Missouri Gambling Stage

For someone who properly knows his history, there’s no question of whether or not is gambling legal in Missouri, especially when the image of riverboat casinos comes to mind. Surprisingly though, these quirky casinos have become regulated in the start of the 90’s. A series of state referendums gave the people of Missouri a roller-coaster of a ride until the current Missouri casino laws have reached the existent form:

• 1991 has seen the first referendum pass by a vast majority of votes in order to allow riverboat casinos to return to life
• The following year has found lawmakers dispute the existence of games of chance in the future-to-be casinos. The first attempt to extend the laws to cover these types of games has failed. The first river casino opened up shop permitting only poker, blackjack, and craps.
• The following years brought along many amendments to the Missouri gambling laws, up to the current existent version. The hours of operations have been extended, the maximum limit of 500 USD for each loss, has been dissipated and the full array of casino games has been accepted for gamblers to play: roulette, baccarat and most important, slot machines.

Another aspect worth mentioning refers to the legal gambling age in Missouri. This subject also presents an unusual side, being one of the few states where the minimum limit starts from 16 years old, in some cases. Therefore, the gambling age in Missouri is set as follows:

• 16 years for bingo, pull-tab and coin boards
• 18 years for participating in the state lottery
• 21 for taking part in casino games

The Missouri laws on gambling have a mild approach on the amateur players caught involved in illegal gambling but go with full force at the professional players. The first category only has to suffer a small fine. The professionals, on the other hand, described as those which declare gambling as a livelihood, or get more than twenty percent of their annual winnings from gambling, can receive a hefty fine and risk jail time.
The same strong stance is held against illegal operators, with the hardest of punishments given to those found guilty of such activities. Furthermore, the definition of gambling operator is quite stretched, making no difference between those who actually organize the illegal gambling activity and those which aid those in the previous category.

Online Gambling in Missouri

Missouri is, at this moment, one of the states less likely to surprise the gambling community with the issuing of a Missouri online gambling laws, in favour of expanding this phenomenon in the online area.

The first argument comes after analyzing one of the main definitions about what gambling means for Missouri, which, although it doesn’t particularly refer to the online, it can easily apply to. So, gambling is seen as a “contest of chance” and in order to establish if a specific game can be categorized here or not, it has to pass the Material Degree Test. This is a challenge to prove if the outcome of a game is dependent on skill in a higher degree than it’s dependent on chance.

Lawmakers have tried to give gambling a scientific, almost mathematical, aspect. Unfortunately, it would seem that this point of view doesn’t particularly help the online gambling community. First, there is a random number generator, a concept that anyone who plays online slots real money in Missouri is familiar with. The RNG is a clear proof of chance being an important part of any online game’s result. Also, most games from respectable online gaming operators reveal the Return to Player rate, which is the fastest way to mathematically prove the impact of chance in any online game.

Second in line come the punishments, which are far less impressive in the case of residents which gamble online, than for those which give it a though at organizing an online gambling site based in Missouri. The operators of online casinos unlicensed by the state of Missouri face severe penalties: jail time, along with heavy fines. And this severe stance against online operators extends to the same degree, to all those involved in the activity, which in the case of online gambling, could mean software providers, online game developers, or server owners.
A final point to make speaks about the legalization of daily fantasy sports and, consequently, of online sports betting. A 2017 bill, referring to legalizing DFS, is still held in pending by the House. Even so, awaiting the finality of this bill, two of the most popular online operators of DFS, took the chance and continued operating in this unregulated market. On sports betting though, little seems to be changing, this subject wasn’t put up for discussion thus far. However, in an overly optimistic train of thoughts, we might see the fact that, as long as the best casinos in Missouri remain the riverboats, they have no space to establish land-based Missouri sports betting venues. Perhaps, these casinos might take into account covering that niche by turning towards the online alternatives.

Legal Alternatives to Online Gambling

The main alternate choice for those who want to play for real money using the services put at disposal by online casinos is the offshore-based websites. They operate under different jurisdictions and manage to take advantage of the legal limitations that have created the gray market, which neither makes them legal, nor illegal. They are the closest substitute to Missouri online real money casinos, although not all software providers see the acceptance of US players with good eyes. Real Time Gaming is the name that carries the most weight from those that constantly accepts US players and Missouri residents subsequently. But there are some important gambling software developers that do not want to take the risk and the hassle that comes along with accepting users from the American states.

Some measures are taken against some of these offshore websites, as well. Missouri is between very few states to take direct action against these online casinos from different jurisdictions. Some websites of online poker, Missouri has managed to block access to. The ones belonging to Merge Network are the most notorious websites to have been banned by state authorities.

Another test of patience when playing on offshore top RTG online casinos is being able to get the cash in your pocket, to the user’s account on the Internet-based casino. The state officials are constantly trying to keep track of the amounts leaving state borders to the states that give out licenses for online gambling. In order to do so, they can impose restrictions on certain transactions they have some control over. Debit and credit cards are the ones that suffer the most in this scenario, which is most unfortunate, seeing how they are the means to deposit and withdraw money favoured and accepted by all online casinos. There are other options, however, that fall short under the state’s surveillance and manage to carry money from one pocket to another, without needing too many approvals. For example, the fast money transfer systems of Western Union and MoneyGram, are slowly beginning to rise as the preferred means of trading money, both in and out the online account.

Offline Options to Bet in Missouri

If the online seems out of reach, despite all the offshore casinos that go to great lengths to offer great services to Missouri players, there are a couple of offline means of gambling in Missouri. There are numerous charitable organizations that cover the renowned bingo games, along with some other versions, such as pull-tab or coin boards. The lottery is also a big part of the gambling market in all its types, both state-based and by joining the interstate alternatives, Powerball and Mega Millions.

The most notorious of all is, still, the MO casinos. As mentioned in the paragraphs above, although no land-based casino exists, the riverboats try to offer the same amenities as any classical casino would. Most famed are the St Louis area casinos, mainly because of the authentic atmosphere they strive to maintain. This becomes a real struggle between keeping up with the competition and retaining the old-school vibe that St Louis became famous for while integrating the digitized novelties of this modern era, in the supplied services.
Missouri has no shortage of places to spend money while gambling for the dreamed fortune, but the gambling market is far from being saturated, keeping the feeling that there is still room for land-based casinos, sports betting parlours and online casinos, altogether.

❓ Are there online casinos in Missouri?

Presently, it is not legal to own one in Missouri. However, there are some off-shore gambling platforms where players can enjoy as many games are allowed. The riverboat casino is also still available for players who want to enjoy the game.

Is It Legal To Bet Online In Missouri

❓ Are the off-shore based Missouri online casinos legal?

There are neither legal or illegal. This is because they try to play by the rules that are binding the people of Missouri, and as such, they also have strict rules and regulations that bind anyone that comes from that location. Some other platforms do not allow any player from Missouri to play. However, Real Time Gaming is known to be one who is more liberal to let gamers from that region to play on the platform.

❓ How strong is the implementation of online casino laws in Missouri?

West Virginia Gambling Laws

The laws that regulate gambling is binding on every citizen of Missouri, foreigners that live within the state as well as the gambling platforms that are within Missouri. There are restrictions to the age group and the kind of games they can be exposed to, and there are penalties and punishments that are duly meted out to any erring individual or organizations, which ranges from fines to jail terms.

❓ Is there is any limit to the maximum winning option in Missouri?

Gambling in Missouri now comes with strict laws guiding it, and it is even more discouraging for players who are enthusiastic about playing the game. When the regulations first became implemented, there was a limit of $500 being placed as the highest winning that any player can have at a time. This is, however, is reviewed and the amount is getting more increased, although the state still monitors the transactions of players and can centrally limit their withdrawals and deposits if they are earning and playing too much. This is possible, especially for those who rely on the debit and credit card mode of payment and withdrawal.

You Might Also be Interested in:

Online Sports Gambling Missouri

Oklahoma state online casinos
Illinois online gambling
KY online casinos
TN online casinos
AR state online casinos
Kansas online gambling
Nebraska online casinos
Iowa state online casinos