Sports betting wins narrow approval in Missouri after high-dollar campaign

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fans in Missouri will be able to bet on sports next year as a result of a ballot measure that barely passed despite getting help from record-setting spending and the state's professional teams.

State election officials on Thursday certified that the sports betting measure passed with 50.05% support in the November election.

Although the constitutional amendment takes effect now, betting won't immediately begin. Under Missouri’s measure, state regulators must launch sports betting no later than Dec. 1, 2025.

A total of 38 states and Washington, D.C., already allow sports betting, which has expanded rapidly since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for it in 2018.

The $43 million campaign — a record for a Missouri ballot measure — was funded almost entirely by DraftKings and FanDuel, which dominate the nationwide sports betting marketplace. Of the total raised, a combined $2 million was chipped in by the state’s six major professional sports teams — the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, and the Kansas City Current and St. Louis City soccer teams.

The $14 million opposition campaign was funded entirely by Caesars Entertainment, which operates three of Missouri’s 13 casinos.

Missouri allows recounts on ballot questions when the winning margin is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast. The deadline to request a recount is seven days after the election is certified.

A spokesperson for the opposition group, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, said previously in an email that it does not plan to request a recount.

Missouri’s constitutional amendment will allow each of the state’s casinos and professional sports teams to offer on-site and mobile sports betting. Teams will control on-site betting and advertising within 400 yards (366 meters) of their stadiums and arenas. The initiative also allows two mobile sports betting operators to be licensed directly by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Under the initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes must go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary and higher education.

Supporters turned to the initiative petition process to get the measure on the ballot after attempts to legalize sports betting repeatedly stalled in the state Senate.

Though available in most states, sports betting remains off-limits in some potentially lucrative markets, such as California and Texas. In 2022, California voters defeated two rival proposals to legalize sports betting after interest groups spent roughly $450 million promoting or opposing the measures.

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Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed to this report.