Another Super Bowl For Chiefs Without Missouri Sports Betting
Supporters Moving Forward With Ballot Initiative
Missouri sports betting has the support of many people. It also has the support of six professional sports teams in the state. But it doesn’t have the support of Sen. Denny Hoskins. At least the way it is written. So, sports betting supporters in Missouri are trying to get a ballot initiative on the November ballot. They’ll need to get nearly 200,000 verified signatures by May 8 to meet the deadline.
Strangely, Hoskins is a strong supporter of sports betting. Almost six years ago, he was the first lawmaker in the state to sponsor a sports betting bill. But he won’t sign off on any current bill that doesn’t include the legalization of video lottery terminals. Hoskins says VLTs could bring in as much as $250 million annually to the state. He wants to see some of that money go to veterans and problem gambling.
One supporter of legalized sports betting is St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III. He said not having Missouri sports betting this time of year will simply drive bettors to illegal betting sites. Those are unregulated, but more importantly for the state, untaxed.
Ballot Initiative
Sensing another stalemate in the Missouri legislature, the professional sports teams in Missouri (St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis CITY SC, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and the Kansas City Current) announced the ballot initiative in January. The committee running the signature collection campaign is called Winning for Missouri Education.
There is plenty of support from the sports betting community. DraftKings sportsbook and FanDuel jump-started the committee’s funds with $250,000 donations. FanDuel has since added $1.5 million, and DraftKings has given an additional $500,000. The two sportsbooks are frequently donating to efforts to legalize sports betting in states that haven’t done so. Both gave $10 million to Florida’s efforts several years ago and $25 million each to California’s failed effort in 2022.
It makes sense for somebody like DraftKings to back those efforts. It would be a big boost financially if Missouri could be added to DraftKings legal states for sports betting. Having competition among sportsbooks in the state is also good for bettors. There will be serious DraftKings promotions aimed at attracting new bettors. The other sportsbooks would follow suit and bettors could decide which promotion they like best.
Eventually, Missouri sports betting will happen. There are too many major interest groups that support it for it not to happen at some point in time. The ballot initiative should get a boost from disgruntled Chiefs fans who will sit through another Super Bowl with no legal way to bet on the game. Some will travel to another state with legal sports betting to make a wager. Others will bet through an illegal establishment. And that’s a lot of tax dollars the state is missing out on, and sports betting supporters are aware of that.
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