With sports betting officially on the ballot this fall in Missouri, DraftKings has given the PAC behind it a major boost.
Last week, DraftKings donated more than $3.5 million to Winning for Missouri Education. The political action committee is responsible for the ballot initiative that aims to fund education services in the state from sports betting tax revenue.
Combined with other contributions, mainly from DraftKings rival FanDuel, the PAC has received nearly $10 million over the last eight months.
DraftKings money will be used for voter education
Winning for Missouri Education succeeded where lawmakers failed over the last three years: get a Missouri sports betting referendum on the ballot for voters to decide the issue.
The real work begins now, WME spokesman Jack Cardetti told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“Now that we are officially on the ballot, we’ll be over the next two and a half months talking to Missourians across the state about why it makes sense to set up a legal sports betting framework that helps public education.”
Education funding was the main selling point for the PAC as it collected signatures from Missouri residents earlier this year. That, along with the millions of dollars in tax revenue the state was missing out on from not legalizing sports betting.
Especially considering that most of its neighboring states allow legal sports betting
The ballot referendum calls for a 10% tax on adjusted gross revenue from sports betting operators. It reads:
“The annual revenues received from such tax shall be appropriated for institutions of elementary, secondary, and higher education in the state.”
The referendum says that sports betting tax dollars will also go toward expenses incurred by the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate sports wagering and towards the Compulsive Gambling Fund.
DraftKings has given more than $5M to PAC
The latest contribution from DraftKings is the sixth donation the sportsbook has made to the WME. Its first two donations to the PAC in January totaled $750,000, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission.
DraftKings followed that up with two March donations totaling $500,000. A month later, it gave the PAC another $500,000.
Including its latest donation of $3,525,000, DraftKings has donated $5,275,000 to WME so far.
FanDuel has made 5 donations to PAC
FanDuel has made five contributions to the WME this year. In January, the sportsbook made two donations, totaling $1.75 million. It donated once in March and twice in April.
So far, FanDuel has contributed $4,275,000 to the PAC.
Overall, the Big Two sportsbooks have donated $9,550,000 to get sports betting legalized in the Show Me State.
Opposition to ballot referendum
Polls have shown mixed results as to whether Missouri voters will approve sports betting in November.
Earlier surveys showed strong support for sports betting, but latest polling has the vote being close.
A couple of weeks ago, gambling advocate Steve Rudock hinted in his Straight to the Point newsletter that a “powerful opponent” was preparing to oppose the sports betting initiative.
So far, no major opposition has emerged.
