MISSOURI – With election day now less than eight weeks away, the campaign over one of the biggest issues on the November ballot in Missouri is starting to heat up: Amendment 2, or legalized sports betting.
The topic is drawing national media attention, the first ads have launched, and organized opposition is starting to take shape.
A televised and online ad from the pro-Amendment 2 group “Winning for Missouri Education” says legalized sports betting will mean tens of millions of dollars for the state’s public schools every year.
Gaming industry journalist Ryan Butler of the website Covers has come to St. Louis to cover the unique story of Missourians heading to surrounding states daily to bet legally.
“Missouri residents spending their money in Illinois and Kansas specifically, (plus) Iowa, Arkansas, every state but Oklahoma, has sports books that border Missouri,” he noted. “The idea is trying to corral that and keep those tax dollars in state of Missouri.”
Passage of Amendment 2 will allow the state to issue licenses for sports betting apps to:
Existing Missouri casino operators
Pro sports teams like the Cardinals, Blues, Chiefs, and Royals
Sports wagering operators like DraftKings and FanDuel
The amendment would establish a $500,000 license application and five-year renewal fees plus a 10 percent tax on the licensees adjusted gross gaming revenues.
The early estimate of year tax revenues generated for the State of Missouri is nearly $29 million.
FOX 2 checked state campaign finance records. They show top Illinois betting apps, DraftKings and FanDuel, are pumping millions into getting Amendment 2 passed.
From January through mid-July, DraftKings gave more than $6 million to the “Winning for Missouri Education” PAC. FanDuel and its parent company kicked in $4.25 million.
A group called “Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment” just filed paperwork in opposition to the amendment with the Missouri Ethics Commission. The group has yet to report any large dollar contributions.
“You don’t waste time filing the paperwork and creating a committee if you’re not willing to do something with it,” Butler said, expecting the opposition campaign to continue to take shape. “We saw a couple of lawsuits trying to stop this from even making the ballot.”
The lawsuits failed, and if Butler had to bet, with more than 200,000 valid voter signatures submitted to put the issue on the ballot and plus consistent support for legalized sports betting in recent polls, you’ll soon be able to stay in Missouri and still get your bets down.
