After a legislative session that featured multiple failed attempts at passing bills, Missouri voters have the final say on sports betting.
Secretary of State Jay Aschroft’s office announced Tuesday afternoon that they verified signatures for a Missouri sports betting ballot initiative. As a result, the issue will be in front of voters this November.
FanDuel, DraftKings and the state’s professional sports franchises supported the initiative. A political action committee called Winning for Missouri Education did the signature-gathering legwork for the proposal.
The country’s two biggest online sportsbooks donated millions to the PAC’s coffers. The franchises helped support signature-gathering efforts on the ground.
Ashcroft’s announcement came after the franchises delivered signatures to the Capitol in early May. State law requires petitions totaling about 170,000 signatures, but Winning for Missouri Education claimed they had roughly double that amount.
What does the intuitive say?
In short, the initiative asks voters if they want to legalize sports betting for Missourians through a constitutional amendment.
Here’s what the official ballot title reads:
“Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
- Allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate licensed sports wagering, including online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts and mobile licenses to sports betting operators;
- Restrict sports betting to individuals physically located in the state and over the age of 21;
- Allow license fees prescribed by the Commission and a 10% wagering tax on revenues received to be appropriated for education after expenses incurred by the Commission and required funding of the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund; and
- Allow for the general assembly to enact laws consistent with this amendment
State government entities estimate one-time costs of $660,000, ongoing annual costs of at least $5.2 million, and initial license fee revenue of $11.75 million. Because the proposal allows for deductions against sports gaming revenues, they estimate unknown tax revenue ranging from $0 to $28.9 million annually. Local governments estimate unknown revenue.”
The initiative also includes language that mandates that the 10% tax be used to fund Missouri public education programs.
Will it pass?
It’s hard to gauge what the public sentiment exactly is since polling results are mixed. Some of the early polling seemed like legal sports betting would be a slam dunk “yes” vote.
However, more recent polls indicate many voters are undecided on the issue.
Furthermore, rumors are swirling that a powerful person or group will launch an attack campaign against the initiative.
At the moment, those are still rumors. But if there is a full-fledged campaign against sports betting legalization, it could become much more difficult to pass.
When could sports betting launch?
Even if voters say “yes” to sports betting at the ballot box, the legislature still has laws to write about the industry. They won’t write them until the 2025 legislative session.
Then, once the laws are in place, the Missouri Gaming Commission still needs to award licenses. However, the initiative already lays out which entities are eligible for retail licenses, and it limits the market to four online licenses.
In other words, the licensing process shouldn’t take long.
Typically, this would translate to a late 2025 launch for the new industry. On the other hand, as more states already went through the process, it is becoming more standardized.
For example, Kentucky went from legalization to launch in just a few months. Missourians could be betting on the 2025 NFL season if everything goes smoothly.
