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JEFFERSON CITY — A coalition backing legal sports betting in Missouri said Thursday it turned in roughly twice the number of signatures needed to put the question on the November general election ballot.

The submission of more than 340,000 signatures represents the first major step toward Missouri becoming the 39th state to legalize sports betting, said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education, the coalition spearheading the sports wagering ballot initiative.

“Quite frankly, getting those signatures was easier than we ever anticipated,� he said at a news conference near the Missouri Capitol.

The coalition is led by the state’s six professional sports teams — ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues, ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Current — and backed by sports betting giants FanDuel and DraftKings.

“We get feedback from our fans all the time,â€� said Mike Whittle, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals senior vice president and general counsel. “One of the big issues we get feedback on is this particular issue: When is sports wagering gonna be legal in Missouri?’â€�

He added: “Our fans get it. They see this revenue’s going outside of Missouri, and they ask the question, ‘Why can’t we keep it in Missouri?’�

With the 2026 World Cup games ahead in Kansas City, “We know that now is the time to provide safe, legal and regulated sports betting (in) Missouri,â€� said ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC spokesperson Courtney Mueller.

The ballot measure would set the sports betting tax rate at 10% and allow Missouri’s professional sports franchises and the state’s 13 casinos to operate retail and online sports betting.

Part of the wagering tax would go to “institutions of elementary, secondary and higher education� and a $5 million “compulsive gambling prevention fund.�

Before an official determination that the ballot question will be put to voters in fall, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft must certify that enough valid signatures were submitted. The determination must be made mid-August at the latest, though it could occur earlier.

ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III earlier this year told a panel of state lawmakers that the coalition would “gladlyâ€� suspend its ballot initiative effort if a sports wagering bill could clear the Legislature.

But legislation to legalize and regulate sports betting has failed for years at the Missouri Capitol, even as neighboring states like Illinois and Kansas passed regulations.

The failure to advance in the Legislature is connected to a fight over unregulated slot machines — video lottery terminals — that can be found in gas stations and bars across the state.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, a Missouri Freedom Caucus member, in recent years has been the face of an effort insisting on the legalization of video lottery terminals along with sports wagering.

At the outset of the 2024 legislative session, both House and Senate leadership indicated the impasse was unlikely to resolve this year, a prediction which has borne out as the May 17 session deadline approaches amid Senate gridlock.

“We would have preferred — and strongly preferred — for this to be a legislative solution,� Whittle said Thursday.

“We’re at a point where we wanted to pursue this avenue and present this issue to the Missouri citizens to vote on later this year,� he said.

Sports betting has expanded to dozens of states across the nation after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 lifted a ban that had limited the practice to Nevada.

Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.