Missouri sports betting campaign gains momentum in push for ballot initiative
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A campaign launched in hopes of legalizing sports betting in Missouri has collected more than half of the signatures needed to place an initiative on ballots.
Winning For Missouri Education, a coalition representing Missouri’s six professional sports teams, announced Tuesday that campaign leaders have collected more than 100,000 initiative petition signatures.
To place the issue on this November’s ballot, the campaign needs to collect around 180,000 signatures and turn them in to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office by May 5.
Campaign leaders are hopeful to surpass 300,000 signatures before the due date and say they’re ahead of schedule in collecting the number of signatures desired.
“We are seeing strong support in the signature gathering effort because Missourians know it is time to legalize sports betting and use the funding for education,” said campaign spokesman, Jack Cardetti. “It’s not only good for our economy but will support our teachers and future generations of Missourians for years to come.’
The initiative would allow each of Missouri’s 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to offer onsite and mobile sports betting. The Missouri Gaming Commission would regulate sports betting, and it would be taxed at 10%. Campaign leaders hope this will generate tens of millions of dollars for Missouri public education.
According to gaming compliance company GeoComply, which tracks and monitors compliance for online betting companies, nearly 431,000 Missourians tried to place bets around the Super Bowl in neighboring states, but were denied that opportunity due to Missouri laws.
“With the Super Bowl data spotlighting the issue, it’s clear that Missourians are already betting billions on offshore sites or across state lines, without contributing a single dime to our schools or our state’s economy,” said Cardetti in a Feb. 20 news release.
The initiative petition process for sports betting is similar to how recreational marijuana made its way onto Missouri ballots and was passed two years ago.
Under the sports betting initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes would go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary, and higher education.
While several sports betting bills have made rounds among Missouri lawmakers in recent years, many have stalled due to political pushback.
For instance, Republican state Sen. Denny Hoskins has previously insisted that sports wagering be paired with the regulation of slot-machine-style video games that have popped up in convenience stores and truck stops. Casinos have opposed that stipulation.
The coalition filed four ballot initiatives through the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office last year. There have been various campaign efforts around Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Blues games in recent months, with a petition looking something like this.
A recent poll from Emerson College found that around 62% of Missouri voters favor the legalization of sports betting, with support among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
