Missouri sports betting will remain on the November ballot following a state court judgment Friday afternoon.
On Friday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel R. Green ruled in favor of Secretary of State John Ashcroft, leaving the Missouri sports betting question on the ballot. The judgment came following Thursday’s hearing of various arguments for and against the certification process of the petition.
“Lawsuits seeking to remove an initiative petition from the ballot after it has been certified as sufficient by the Secretary are highly disfavored,” Green wrote in his judgment. “Applying these long-standing principles, Plaintiffs have not offered sufficient justification or evidence to call the Secretary’s certification of sufficient of the Sports Wagering Petition into question.”
Missouri finalizes its November ballot Tuesday.
Lawsuit origins remain mysterious
With the ruling, the true origins of the lawsuit remain unknown. The main plaintiff, Jacqueline Wood, said during testimony Thursday she brought the suit at the request of one of her lawyers.
Wood and fellow plaintiff Blake Lawrence are political consultants who largely work with Democratic clients. Marc Ellinger, the chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association, led the team of attorneys behind the plaintiffs.
In the past, Ellinger has represented the Missouri Gaming Association, which remained quiet during the sports betting ballot initiative and lawsuit. The association represents the casino operators in the state, including Caesars Entertainment and Penn Entertainment.
Plaintiff case falls short
The lawsuit challenged the process Ashcroft used to certify the sports betting question for the November ballot. During Thursday’s hearing, Ellinger focused on the 1st Congressional District, where he argued several hundred signatures were invalid.
Without sufficient signatures in that district, the petition would have only met the criteria in five of eight congressional districts. Winning for Missouri Education, the committee behind the ballot initiative, turned in 370,000 signatures in May, as it needed 170,000, including 8% of voters in six of the eight districts.
Ellinger called multiple witnesses Thursday to demonstrate how signatures could be invalid. On Friday, Green wrote the plaintiffs’s evidence was insufficient.
“The Court has determined the Secretary’s method of determining the number of signatures needed in each Congressional District was valid and lawful,” Green wrote. “The Secretary certified that the Sports Wagering Petition gathered more signatures than the minimum needed in Congressional District 1.”
Missouri sports betting supporters
Alongside Ashcroft’s representatives from the Attorney General’s office, Winning for Missouri Education attorney Charles Hatfield argued to keep the question on the ballot.
Winning for Missouri Education led the signature-gathering process this year. WME spokesperson Jack Cardetti provided a statement Friday after the ruling:
“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 in permanent, dedicated funding each year to our public schools. For too many years, Missourians have watched as fans cross state lines to place sport bets, which deprives our Missouri public schools of much needed funding. A vote for Amendment 2 in November will bring those dollars back to Missouri classrooms.”
DraftKings and FanDuel have contributed more than $10 million to the organization since it began its campaign earlier this year.
Missouri sports betting on the ballot
In less than two months, Missourians will get to weigh in on whether online sports betting should be legal.
If successful, the ballot question would legalize online and in-person sportsbooks in the Show-Me State. That includes online skins for the state’s six casino operators and six professional sports team, as well as two untethered licenses.
Missouri would tax sports betting revenue at 10%.
Sports betting support looks strong
Recent Missouri sports betting polling shows 50% of voters are in support of the issue.
Saint Louis University and YouGov released the newest poll last month. It also shows 21% of voters are undecided.
A professor attached to the study, Kenneth Warren, said, “This amendment seems very likely to pass.”
