The Missouri Gaming Commission awarded coveted sports betting licenses to DraftKings and Circa Sports on Friday.

It’s a move that some keen observers of the gaming industry say is a major surprise, especially considering sports betting giant FanDuel was also making a play for what’s known as the “untethered” license.

“To put this in terms that I think most Missourians could understand, it's kind of like the 2019 St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup,” said Steve Bittenbender, a writer and analyst for betmissouri.com . “This really came from out of nowhere.”

Missourians legalized sports betting last year. And that constitutional amendment gives the Missouri Gaming Commission power to give two licenses to sports betting operators that don’t have an agreement with a casino or sports

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