Figures released by the Missouri Gaming Commission showed sportsbooks took $258.3m in bets in June, up from $252.5m in May. But taxable revenue fell to $13.6m, down from $20m a month earlier.
Football was a major driver of the handle:
That is the split worth watching in betting markets. Handle tells one story. Hold tells another.
The tournament appears to have delivered exactly the kind of outcomes sportsbooks do not want when public money is concentrated on the same teams. Strong bettor results on Argentina, England, France and Spain piled pressure on operators, especially as those sides kept progressing.
There was also support behind the United States, and early wins reportedly landed well for customers because the action was heavily one-sided. Add in promotional bets and routine deductions, and the revenue picture tightened further.
This is often the hidden side of a major football event. A World Cup can lift betting volume dramatically, but if favourites keep winning, operators can still have a poor month.
Missouri has already begun moving betting tax money into education, with $3.213m transferred during the 2026 fiscal year so far. But the structure is sensitive to sportsbook margins, not just betting enthusiasm.
That makes the next phase important. July and August are expected to cool, although Missouri’s MLB clubs may help steady activity before the traditional autumn surge. The real test will come when football returns to the top of the calendar and the state heads into what could be its busiest betting stretch yet.