Missouri Sports Betting Ballot Initiative Survives Lawsuit

Missouri voters will get a chance to determine the fate of legal sports betting in their state after all, as a ballot initiative coming in the fall will determine if residents may gain access to some of the best sports betting sites.

That will come as a disappointment to a pair of residents of the Show-Me State, who had launched a lawsuit to have the ballot disqualified on the grounds that signatures had been collected improperly.

Status

Just less than a month ago, we told residents and proponents of a legal Missouri sports betting platform to rejoice. That's because, in mid-August, it was announced that enough signatures had been collected to place a vote on the November election ballot. 

There's been a large push in the state to turn the public tide toward being in favor of legal sports betting. A group that led the way to get the question on the ballot - Winning for Missouri Education - aimed to get 170,000 signatures. They got 340,000. 

Part of that may be because of the heavy hitters supporting the group, including pro sports teams in the region. The NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, MLB's Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, the NHL's St. Louis Blues, and MLS' Kansas City Current and St. Louis City SC had all thrown their weight behind the initiative. 

So, too, had a couple of our best sportsbooks: FanDuel and DraftKings. 

The court case

Two residents who were against the question tried to have it removed from the ballot, arguing that the signatures were not valid. The verification of the signatures was questioned by the plaintiffs who sought to have hundreds of approvals removed. 

A judge dismissed the lawsuit on Friday. The question will remain on the November ballot, much to the pleasure of Winning for Missouri Education. 

"Today's ruling, while expected, is nevertheless a big victory for Missourians, who overwhelmingly want to join the 38 other states that allow sports betting, so that we can provide tens of millions of permanent, dedicated funding each year to our public schools," read a statement from Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for Winning for Missouri Education.

In May, the group pointed out how much legal gambling could benefit the state, suggesting staggering amounts of wagering were already taking place illegally. 

Back in May, Winning for Missouri Education released a statement that sang the praises of such a platform for the state.

“Estimates suggest that Missourians currently place hundreds of millions in bets each year either by using illegal, offshore gaming websites, or by driving to neighboring states to place wagers," it read.

"By legalizing sports gaming in Missouri, the initiative petition would halt much of this activity and instead provide tens of millions of dollars annually for Missouri classrooms, where teachers are some of the lowest paid in the entire country.”

Possible legalization

If approved on Nov. 5, each of Missouri’s sports teams would become eligible for a legal sports betting license. The state’s existing casino locations will also be eligible to launch their sportsbook. Each of those entities will be able to acquire their own retail and mobile sports betting license.

Every casino and pro sports team would be open to partnering with one online sports betting operator, and the legal age for wagering would be 21.

Once operational, the state’s Education system would benefit from a 10% tax rate on net revenues from state providers. The total tax revenue could reach $28.9 million in very short order.