As the Missouri sports betting campaign waits for confirmation the issue will be on the November ballot, the committee behind the push had a quiet second quarter.
Winning for Missouri Education turned in its quarterly report July 13 noting monetary disbursements of $70,384 for the Missouri sports betting campaign. The committee did not report any new campaign contributions, which had previously reached $6.5 million from DraftKings and FanDuel, according to previous filings.
The Missouri Secretary of State’s office is working to confirm 170,000 valid signatures on the campaign’s ballot petitions, which were turned in ahead of a May 5 deadline with 340,000 signatures. The deadline for signature verification is July 30, according to a Secretary of State spokesperson.
Missouri sports betting expenses
In July’s quarterly filing, the campaign reported $25,000 to Blitz Canvassing for signature collections.
A payment of $375 was also made to Mike Pridmore for compliance. There were also $9.40 in banking fees.
The campaign also completed a debt payment of $45,000 to Tightline Public Affairs for a previously reported expense.
Fundraising slows in Missouri
As the Secretary of State’s office works to confirm the signatures, the campaign did not report any new contributions.
In the committee’s previous report in May, the group had raised $6.5 million this election period. The committee spent just shy of $6 million in its effort to secure signatures.
DraftKings and FanDuel are the only two companies that have assisted the campaign, according to the reports. FanDuel contributed $4 million in cash, while DraftKings added $2 million. Both companies made $250,000 in in-kind contributions.
Missouri sports betting push
The ballot proposal would create in-person and online sports betting licenses for the state’s 13 casinos and six sports teams.
It also would allow for two standalone online sportsbook licenses.
The proposal sets the sports betting tax rate at 10%.
Support for MO sports betting
The same coalition of sports teams and casinos that are behind the ballot initiative also were backers of legislative efforts the past three years. In 2022 and 2023, the legislation made it through the House before dying in the Senate.
This year, the House did not act on the proposal as Sen. Denny Hoskins continued to hold the issue hostage in hopes of adding video lottery terminal legalization.
Recent Missouri sports betting polling suggests voters are split on the issue. Polls from earlier this year, however, showed approximately 60% of Missourians are in favor of legalizing sports betting.
