After major efforts by sports teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals and Blues, a sports betting initiative was recently approved and will be on the state ballot in November.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft® approved a petition for the ballot bill on Tuesday, and voters can now decide on the issue in November. The petition was filed after lawmakers failed to approve a bill in recent years.
“Missouri is just one step away from joining most other states in legalizing sports betting and providing millions of dollars to Missouri classrooms,” said Cardinals President Bill DeWitt. Chapter Three said in a statement. “A vote for Amendment 2 in November is the right thing to do for both Missouri’s public schools and our favorite sports teams.”
Missourians appear to support the plan
Winning for Missouri Education spent $6.5 million on the petition drive and collected more than 340,000 signatures. The campaign was supported and funded by the teams and major sports betting operators.
Kansas has already approved sports betting in 2022 and now many in the neighboring state are hoping that betting will soon go live. According to the Kansas City StarA poll conducted in March found that 60% of likely voters supported legalization, while 25% opposed the measure and another 14% were unsure.
Casino plans fall short
The sports betting ballot initiative may have been given the green light, but the Secretary of State’s office has rejected a petition to vote on a new casino license for the Lake of the Ozarks area. The petition failed to reach the required number of signatures in three of the state’s eight congressional districts, a review of voter records showed. But developers have vowed to continue the fight.
“We are confident that we have collected enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot,” Ed Rhode, a spokesman for the organizers, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “In the meantime, our legal team is evaluating our next steps. We are confident that after all signatures are counted and verified, we will appear on the November 2024 ballot.”
