ST. LOUIS - On a day when temperatures hit 98 degrees in St. Louis, some sports fans who headed to the Cardinals game said they are ready for December.

It’s not the weather they are eager about. December is when sportsbooks can legally begin to accept wagers in Missouri.

“See your favorite player hit a home run or a base hit and win a wager; that would be pretty cool,” said Josh Armstrong, a St. Louis Cardinals fan. 

Currently, he travels to Illinois to place sports wagers.

On Friday, fans learned more about some of their options. The Missouri Gaming Commission awarded two untethered licenses.

Circa Sports and DraftKings were the recipients.  Untethered licenses allow them to operate without being tied to a casino or professional sports team. 

Also on Friday, FanDuel announced a new market access agreement with St. Louis CITY SC.

“You will still be able to bet with them through their mobile app,” said Ryan Butler, senior news analyst for Covers.com.

He said in December, Missouri sports bettors will be able to visit casinos and professional sports teams or use mobile apps to place wagers with several different companies.

He views the news that Circa Sports, a smaller sportsbook, received an untethered license as the biggest news from Friday.

“It sets up Missouri to really be one of the stronger, more well-rounded sports betting markets of the 31 statewide, mobile sports betting jurisdictions in the country,” said Butler.

He said Circa appeals to higher-end bettors and is currently part of sports wagering in only five other states.

“Some of these other books have been known that if you're winning too much, they will limit the amount of bets you can place or the size of those bets, or they'll just stop taking you entirely,” said Butler.  “Circa is the opposite.”

Missouri’s law imposes a 10% tax on profits.  Gaming supporters project sports wagering in Missouri will generate $100 million for schools in the first five years.