Betting Initiative Gets Backing from Pro Teams in Missouri
Initiative Looks More Promising Than Bill

Missouri is seeking to become the 39th U.S. state to legalize sports betting, but there have been many bumps in the road.
The latest obstacle — a sports betting bill that is waiting to be voted on by the State House despite likely failure in the State Senate after it has faced harsh opposition for years — may be overcome using a Missouri sports betting initiative which would put the question of legalization up to the voters instead of politicians.
Missouri State Senator Denny Hoskins has pledged to make sure that House Bill 2331 is never passed, and he has done so by insisting that video lottery terminals be included in the legislation.
However, there is little support for that inclusion. The bill, in addition to allowing for online sports wagering in Missouri, would also legalize sports wagering on casino riverboats. If you’ve watched the popular Netflix TV show, Ozark, you’d expect Marty and Wendy Byrde to be firmly in favor of HB2331.
For now, though, the best way for Missourians to be able to utilize the best gambling sites will likely be via a ballot initiative.
There is significant external support for the initiative, namely from the group Winning for Missouri Education, which is a political action committee backed by the state’s professional sports teams — the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis SC, and the Kansas City Current.
FanDuel and DraftKings are also behind Winning for Missouri Education.
Signatures Are Being Collected
On Tuesday, Winning for Missouri Education said it has received more than 100,000 signatures for its Missouri sports betting initiative.
The group needs to provide the Missouri Secretary of State with more than 170,000 valid signatures by May 5 of this year for the initiative to be able to be put up for a vote to residents of the state.
Winning for Missouri Education has said that it expects to receive 300,000 valid signatures by that deadline, which should be more than enough for what’s required.
Should enough valid signatures be received by May 5, the initiative will be put up for a statewide vote in November. If Missouri residents pass the measure, then online and in-person sportsbooks would be created for each of the state’s casinos (13) and professional sports teams (6).
The Missouri Gaming Commission — which governs betting in the state — would also have two independent licenses that it could distribute to existing operators for gaming operation purposes.
Bettors may not be able to wager on Las Vegas betting odds while still in Missouri, but if the ballot initiative successfully makes it to the voters, then there’s a decent chance it would be passed.
A poll conducted by a Kansas City news station in conjunction with Emerson College — which is a big name in the polling space — found that 62% of state residents support legalizing sports betting if it helps fund education efforts in Missouri.
Missouri Likely Will Follow Other States’ Mold
As further evidence that the Missouri sports betting initiative is popular in the state, the geolocation company GeoComply reported that roughly 431,000 Missouri residents tried to access sportsbooks in neighboring states (like Kansas) during Super Bowl weekend.
This indicates that there is plenty of active interest in sports betting in Missouri and shows that the state is missing out on significant revenue opportunities to nearby states by not having its own legal sports betting framework.
It also helps to have significant financial support from major existing operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, which have contributed a collective $2 million to the initiative.
It’ll be interesting to see — if either HB2331 or the initiative are passed — whether the two independent licenses will go to the operators, running two of the best online sportsbooks out there, or if other names will get into the mix.
A final sticking point regarding HB2331, which would need to be worked out if Missouri goes the initiative route, is what the final tax rate will be for sports betting revenues.
Currently, it’s set at 10% which is pretty low compared to the figures from other states. Opponents of legalized betting surely will want to bump that up significantly to maximize how much funding gets routed from operators to education (and to lessen the chances that the bill passes).
Supporters, particularly the operators themselves, would love to keep a relatively low tax burden. That major issue could stall legalization.
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