The Missouri sports betting initiative continues its march toward November, but it could be two weeks until an official decision is made on whether or not it will be on the ballot.
The Missouri Secretary of State’s office received the Missouri sports betting ballot petition signature reports from local election authorities Tuesday, according to a spokesperson. Next, the office must determine the sufficiency of the petition before it approves the issue for the November ballot.
The office has until August 13 to issue the certificate of sufficiency. The group behind the initiative, Winning for Missouri Education, began its campaign last fall after multiple sports betting legislation failures.
Missouri sports betting ballot journey
Winning for Missouri Education began collecting signatures in January, needing to reach at least 170,000. The coalition turned in 340,000 signatures ahead of the May 5 deadline.
The local election authorities had until Tuesday to verify signatures. Now, the Secretary of State’s office must ensure there is a sufficient number of valid signatures before it officially is on the ballot. That decision will come by August 13.
The ballot campaign raised $6.5 million from DraftKings and FanDuel through July, spending just shy of $6 million to secure the signatures.
Missouri sports betting framework
The proposal would create in-person and online sports betting licenses for the state 13 casinos and six professional sports teams.
The Missouri Gaming Commission could also issue two standalone online sportsbook licenses.
It would also set a tax of 10% on sports betting revenue.
Legislative failures in Missouri
Winning for Missouri Education is backed by a coalition of professional sports teams in the state. The teams, Missouri casinos and sportsbook companies were behind legislative pushes the past three years.
The legislation passed the House in 2022 and 2023. However, once in the Senate, Sen. Denny Hoskins killed the issue, as he hoped to attach video lottery terminal legalization to sports betting.
This year, the bill died on the House floor with Hoskins pledging to be an “obstructionist” until he got his way.
Missouri sports betting polling from June showed voters are fairly split on the issue.
