With Missouri sports betting officially on the ballot in November, a major sportsbook is adding to the bank account of the group behind the push.
Days after the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office certified a MO sports betting ballot initiative for November, DraftKings contributed $3.5 million to the Winning for Missouri Education campaign fund, according to a Missouri Ethics Commission filing Friday.
DraftKings and FanDuel have now contributed more than $10 million to the ballot initiative.
Behind the Missouri ballot push
Missouri sports teams, led by the St. Louis Cardinals, launched the ballot push last fall after repeated failures in the Show-Me State legislature.
With the question on the ballot, Winning for Missouri Education will turn its attention to educating the public on sports betting.
“Over the next eleven weeks, our campaign is committed to communicating with every Missourian to ensure they understand the critical importance of legalizing sports betting to help fund Missouri classrooms,” spokesperson Jack Cardetti said in a statement.
“With teacher pay in Missouri among the lowest in the nation, it’s clear that our schools need this new, permanent, dedicated source of funding. By voting ‘yes’ on Amendment 2 on November 5, voters will be providing tens of millions in new revenue each year to Missouri’s public schools.”
New money for MO sports betting
During the first half of the year, DraftKings and FanDuel fueled the signature-gathering process with $6.5 million in contributions. Winning for Missouri Education turned in approximately 370,000 signatures prior to the May 5 deadline.
A petition needs approximately 170,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office certified those signatures last week after local officials verified them.
DraftKings and FanDuel did not respond to a request for comment. The Sports Betting Alliance, which represents the two sportsbooks as well as BetMGM and Fanatics, referred LSR to Winning for Missouri Education’s statement.
What Missouri sports betting could look like
Show-Me State voters will get to weigh in on whether the state legalizes sports betting. Should it pass, the proposal creates in-person and online sports betting licenses for the state’s casinos and sportsbooks.
There are also two standalone online licenses available through the Missouri Gaming Commission.
The state would levy a 10% tax on sports betting revenue.
Missouri sports betting polling
Winning for Missouri Education cites Missouri sports betting polling that has more than 60% of Missourians supporting the initiative. Those surveys were published in February and March by Emerson College, and Saint Louis University and YouGov, respectively.
A more recent poll by Emerson College and Nexstar Media found 38.3% of voters said yes to the push, with more than 25% still undecided.
Last fall, a Remington Research Group study found 26% of Missourians were in favor of sports betting.
Legislative stumbles in Missouri
The sports teams have backed sports betting legislation the past three years. Those bills were largely carried by Rep. Dan Houx, who passed it through the House in 2022 and 2023.
Once in the Senate, however, the bills were killed by Sen. Denny Hoskins. Hoskins again pledged to be an obstructionist until he got his way in 2024, which is adding video lottery terminal legalization to sports betting.
With Hoskins waiting in the upper chamber, the House did not vote on sports betting this session.
