Anxious sports fans in Missouri will soon know whether they’ll get to vote on legal sports betting this November.
According to state election officials, petitions have been received that could place a “yes or no” sportsbook proposal on the ballot in November. This is the only route to a Missouri sports betting industry by 2025.
However, the signatures must first be verified. The Missouri Secretary of State has until Wednesday, Aug. 13, to validate the petitions and signatures.
Ballot initiative could be end of sports betting’s rocky road
The state legislature has long been working toward legal sports betting. But the path has been bumpy as past efforts have failed. As a result, some sports betting proponents believe the ballot box is the smoothest route to legalization.
A political action committee dubbed “Winning for Missouri Education” used grassroots support to gather more than 300,000 signatures for its sports betting ballot initiative. The signature total was nearly twice as many as the required total for ballot access.
The group was funded by FanDuel and DraftKings and supported by the state’s pro sports franchises.
The two online sportsbooks donated more than $2.5 million to the PAC in April and more than $5.5 million overall. Additionally, mascots for the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues delivered signatures to the Capitol. Recently, Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan vocalized his support to the media.
Based on reports from the PAC, they secured more than enough signatures to get the proposal on the ballot this fall. The initiative would tax sports betting revenue at 10% and use it mostly to fund Missouri’s education system.
Missouri ballot initiatives have mixed results
Most recently, in 2022, Missouri voters passed two ballot initiatives.
First, they legalized recreational marijuana use for anyone at least 21 years old. Then, they established the Missouri Department of the National Guard.
However, the other two measures failed. The state has a history of multiple ballot proposals each election cycle, but the success rate has been around 25-50 percent in most cases.
Once again, there are four ballot initiatives awaiting approval this year. Aside from the sports betting proposal, Missouri voters could vote on whether to add a casino at the Lake of the Ozarks. The PAC supporting that proposal also claim to have breached the signature threshold for ballot access.
Additionally, an initiative would establish a statewide $15/hour minimum wage and the other would add the “right for reproductive freedom” to the Missouri Constitution.
Polls give mixed results about Missouri sports betting support. An Emerson College poll from February said 62% of respondents are in favor of legalizing sports betting. But a separate poll conducted by the same group showed a near split. The more recent poll showed 38% in favor, 35% opposed and 26% unsure.
