Missouri voters to decide on sports betting legalization in upcoming election

Amendment 2 will appear on the ballot during the November general election, allowing Missourians to choose whether the state should legalize sports betting.

The initiative petition circulated by the Winning for Missouri Education campaign gathered 205,361 valid signatures and was deemed sufficient in six of the state’s eight Congressional districts, allowing it to appear on the ballot. The amendment was challenged in court, with the plaintiffs arguing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified signatures that should have been rejected, but Cole County Judge Daniel Green ruled in Ashcroft’s favor.

Amendment 2 aims to revise Article III of the Missouri Constitution by adopting a new section known as Article III, Section 39 (g), which would legalize sports gambling for those 21 and older throughout the state.

Currently, 38 other states, along with the District of Columbia, allow sports betting in some form. Seven of eight states bordering Missouri have legalized sports betting, with Oklahoma being the outlier.

If the amendment passes, entities licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission may offer sports wagering through online platforms to people physically located within the state, on gambling boats and at any location within each sports district, as approved by each team that plays its games in the district.

The amendment includes a 10% tax on a company's profit after winnings are paid out, which is estimated to bring in up to $28.9 million annually. Cost estimates include a one-time cost of $660,000 and ongoing annual costs of at least $5.2 million. The initial license fee will provide a revenue of approximately $11.75 million.

The tax revenue won't be included in the state's total revenue. It will instead cover costs associated with running and regulating sports betting and at least 10% — or $5 million, whichever is more — will go to the state’s Compulsive Gambling Fund. The remainder will be appropriated to Missouri's elementary, secondary and higher education institutions. To ensure the funds are being used properly, the amendment will require the state auditor to perform an annual public audit of all revenue received through sports betting.

Proponents of this amendment, namely Winning for Missouri Education, an Amendment 2 campaign that is funded by DraftKings and FanDuel, said it could generate $100 million for Missouri education over the next five years. An advertising campaign by Winning for Missouri Education states the money can be used to increase teacher pay and points to ballot language regarding improper use of the funds.

“There’s a constitutional guarantee that revenue from sports betting will go to our schools,” the advertisement says, “so even politicians can’t waste this opportunity.”

In addition to DraftKings and FanDuel, endorsements for passage of the initiative include every major professional sports team in Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson and gubernatorial candidates Republican Mike Kehoe and Democrat Crystal Quade, among others.

Opponents, such as the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment campaign, are saying that none of the money is guaranteed to go to schools. The group points to the Missouri Lottery as an example, arguing that out-of-state corporations are falsely claiming the measure will help fund education in the state. But, because of “special loopholes”, the group says no money is guaranteed to go to funding schools.

“Any money that could possibly be raised from sports gambling would give politicians a ‘blank check’ to spend the money however they want, with no accountability,” Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment’s website states.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins and Caesars Entertainment — a casino company that directly competes with FanDuel and DraftKings with its own sports betting platform — have spoken out against the amendment.