FanDuel, DraftKings donate to Missouri sports betting push
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s professional sports teams and the online gambling industry began bankrolling an effort Thursday to convince the state’s voters to legalize sports betting.
In paperwork filed Jan. 4, a political action committee was formed to raise money to pay for the ballot initiative, which is expected to run in the millions of dollars.
On Thursday, the PAC reported two leading online companies, FanDuel and DraftKings, had each written checks worth $250,000 to jumpstart the campaign.
The move comes as the prospects again appear bleak for the state Legislature to finally break a logjam over legalizing sports betting during their current session, which runs through mid-May.
“Both sides are pretty entrenched. You haven’t seen a lot of movement,” Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said Thursday.
Rowden said he wasn’t convinced the threat of a ballot initiative would provide enough pressure on lawmakers to end the impasse.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, had a similar take on the prospects of a legislative solution: “I wouldn’t bet on it, no pun intended.”
Plocher has been able to muscle sports betting legislation through the House in recent years, but the bills have withered in the Senate over disagreements on how to address the spread of unregulated and untaxed slot machines at gas stations and taverns.
The standoff has allowed video gambling machines to flourish across the state without any of the money spent on the machines being taxed.
The teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and the St. Louis Blues hockey club, have received the go-ahead from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to begin circulating petitions for signatures to get a sports betting measure on the ballot.
FanDuels and DraftKings, two giants in the sports betting world, also are in position to be involved in the ballot initiative.
Supporters must collect 170,000 signatures from registered voters across the state by early May.
The newly former PAC is called “Winning for Missouri Education.” Money raised by the PAC will help pay for signature gatherers and, if they collect enough to get on the ballot, an advertising campaign aimed at convincing voters to legalize betting on sports contests.
Bill DeWitt III, Cardinals president, earlier said the teams are meeting with the mobile gambling app industry to discuss which question should be put forward.
The coalition filed eight proposed ballot questions, each with slight variations on a framework to impose a 10% tax on wagers, which could generate an estimated $29 million for education. The plan also calls for creating a $5 million problem gambling fund.
The plans would allow “retail sports wagering” at casinos and within a “sports district,” which is defined as the stadium and 400 yards from the perimeter where professional sports teams play their home games.
That would allow the teams to have a betting parlor at the stadium or in an area adjacent to the arena.
Initial license fees for the teams and casinos are set at $250,000, with a $250,000 renewal every five years. Mobile licenses for companies like FanDuels would be set at $500,000, with a $500,000 renewal after five years.
The tax rate of 10% could be lowered by a provision allowing companies unlimited deductions for promotional merchandise, wager promotions and free play, putting the actual tax rate at 5% or lower, according to industry analysts.
The push comes as sports betting has expanded across the nation after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a ban that had limited the practice to Nevada. Sports wagering has since been legalized in 38 states, according to the American Gaming Association.
Polls have not shown widespread support for adding another gambling option in Missouri.
Last year, a Remington Research Group survey on behalf of the Missouri Scout political newsletter found 54% in opposition to legalizing sports betting, compared with 26% in favor. Twenty percent said they were not sure. The margin of error was 3.8%.
If the question makes it to the ballot, it could join a second gambling expansion question. Casino giant Bally’s and a group of investors are attempting to get voter support to allow a casino to open at Lake of the Ozarks.
If approved, it would be Missouri’s 14th casino.
Posted at 4:45 p.m. Thursday; story updated at 8:35 p.m. Thursday.
