Years of political bickering have kept sports betting outlawed in Missouri while all but one of its eight bordering states have approved the activity, but it now seems likely that voters will decide its legality in November.
“Winning for Missouri Education,†a group that has received funding from sportsbook behemoths DraftKings and FanDuel, announced this week that more than 300,000 signatures have been collected in its initiative-petition campaign to put the issue before Missouri voters as a constitutional amendment. To put the measure on the ballot, approximately 180,000 valid signatures must be submitted to the Missouri Secretary of State by May 5.
Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the group, said signatures still are being collected and the goal is to have about 325,000 by the deadline.
“The tremendous support we’ve seen throughout the state is a testament to Missourians’ readiness to bring sports betting (tax) revenue home and support our local schools, students and teachers in the process,†he said in a statement. “As the campaign approaches our goal of putting this on the November ballot, Missouri is a step closer to allowing Missouri adults to bet on sports, while generating tens of millions in annual funding for our classrooms.â€
People are also reading…
Since the U.S. Supreme Court nearly six years ago struck down a federal ban on sports betting in most locations, allowing states to determine if they want it, 38 have approved it and Oklahoma is the only Missouri neighbor where it remains illegal.
The drive to legalize sports betting in Missouri has been supported by its major pro sports teams, which would be eligible for a license to book bets if they play in a venue with at least 11,500 seats. If approved, they could take wagers either on site or online. Missouri’s 13 casinos also could offer such betting, as well as two additional online operators not physically in the state.
But not everyone agrees. Denny Hoskins, a Republican state senator from Warrensburg who has blocked the advancement of sports-betting bills in the past, was asked at a news conference about his feelings regarding the issue moving closer to a statewide vote.
“I’m not against putting that question on the ballot, but I’ve consistently said that the ballot language that they are using I believe does not best serve the people of Missouri,†he said, adding that he thinks the tax rate of 10% is too low and “there’s not enough money in there for problem compulsive gambling, which is going to be caused by the legalization of sports betting here in the state. This is definitely a golden ticket for all of the casinos and professional sports teams.â€
He added that casinos would make “another $25 million in net profit going to their bottom line. ... I want to make sure that there is enough money in there to help any problems they cause with ... compulsive gambling.â€
The Missouri House of Representatives has sent sports gambling bills to the Senate in multiple recent sessions to no avail, and it seems unlikely that anything will pass in this year’s term that ends May 17. The bills have been tied to the controversial issue of attempting to legalize gambling machines in gas stations and other public places outside of casinos that has been pushed by Hoskins. If the initiative petition drive is successful, the ballot question only would be about legalizing sports betting. It would not address the unregulated machines that have infiltrated the state, which the Missouri Gaming Commission previously said were illegal.
Hoskins continues to support uniting the issues.
“I think that is the best plan if we combine those two together,†he said. “... I think a legislative plan would be better, but we’ve gone down that road and unfortunately the casinos kill any sort of compromise we try to come up with.â€
Hoskins said there is an estimate that under the proposed sports betting amendment “Missouri will actually receive zero dollars going toward education, and already ... none of those additional funds can go to our veterans homes and veterans cemeteries — unlike video lottery terminals, which has a significant amount of fees that can send over $30 million to our veterans homes and cemeteries.â€
“Winning for Missouri Education†counters by saying that legalized sports betting would “generate tens of millions of dollars for Missouri public education.â€
Maryland, a state very similar in population size to Missouri, has legalized sports betting and its operators booked $536.7 million in wagers on athletics in March. After payouts to winners and other expenses, the sportsbooks there turned a profit of $32.4 million. With a tax rate of 15% on that final figure, the state took in $4.85 million in sports-betting revenue for the month.