While there was some last-minute doubt, a Missouri sports betting ballot initiative appears to have cleared its last hurdle.
As Missouri election jurisdictions turned in final results ahead of a Tuesday deadline, the margin of victory for Amendment 2, the MO sports betting initiative, dropped at one point to a mere 368 votes, well within the 0.5% margin of error for a recount. But following Tuesday, the initiative looks to be in the clear.
The Secretary of State must certify the results by Dec. 10. After that date, a recount could be requested.
“I expect that when we’re done with the certification process, it will still be within the margin of error for them to be able to request a recount, but I don’t know if they will,” Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft told Fox 2 Now.
Close race for Missouri sports betting
Missouri sports teams began the ballot initiative last year, following multiple legislative failures. DraftKings and FanDuel contributed more than $40 million to the campaign.
In opposition, Caesars contributed more than $15 million to Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, the most expensive ballot initiative opposition campaign in the state’s history. The campaign pulled its ads a few weeks before the election, which could be related to the Missouri Gaming Commission’s opinion that each casino in the state, not just the six casino operators, will receive a skin.
Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment told Fox 2 it does not plan on requesting a recount.
The nearly 50-50 result also represents the bipartisan nature of sports betting. There are opponents on both sides of the aisle.
Margin narrows in Missouri
Amendment 2 had a safe margin of victory of more than 4,300 votes after election night, enough that Winning for Missouri Education claimed victory.
However, as Tuesday’s deadline approached, jurisdictions continued to turn in ballots. One in particular, Christian County, turned in nearly 10,000 votes, with many against the ballot initiative. That brought the margin of victory to the 368 number.
As of Friday, Amendment 2 was back to a victory margin of nearly 4,000 votes from the 2.9 million cast. That was good for 50.07% of the votes.
Missouri ready to open up
Assuming the results remain, sports betting in Missouri must launch by Dec. 1, 2025. The state’s six professional sports teams each will receive an online skin and can build an in-person sportsbook.
The ballot language could be interpreted to allocate just one license to each of the state’s casino operators. The Missouri Gaming Commission, however, interprets the language to give each of the 13 riverboat casinos in the state licenses.
There are also two untethered skins available.
The ballot language calls for a 15% tax on sports betting revenue.
Missouri sports betting analysis
Based on LSR analysis, Missouri has the potential to generate more than $4.5 billion in wagers. That could lead to $500 million in gross operator revenue each year.
Legislative researchers expect tax revenue of up to $29 million annually.
GeoComply has identified more than 200,000 online sports betting accounts in Missouri. During the first three weeks of the NFL betting season, GeoComply blocked more than 11 million location checks from accounts attempting to access legal sportsbooks in other markets.
