Missouri voters narrowly approve sports betting change • Missouri Independent

When the NFL playoffs begin in January, sports betting will be legal in Missouri.

The only remaining question that has now been approved by voters Change 2 At issue is whether bettors are using platforms licensed in Missouri or whether players are required to use accounts linked to licenses from other states.

The outcome of the sports betting wasn't clear until the final votes from Greene County were announced after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The southwestern Missouri county voted 55% against sports betting, narrowing the statewide margin to just over 14,000 out of 2.9 million votes cast.

For the other gambling measure on the ballot, the election didn't go as well. The voters said “no.” Change 5which would have approved a new casino near Lake of the Ozarks. It is only the third time since 1980 that Missouri voters have rejected a proposal to expand gambling in the state.

With nearly all counties reporting, Amendment 5 lost 52% to 48%.

Funded by the two largest online bookmakers, FanDuel and DraftKings, the committee won for Missouri Education, achieving a record of almost $41 million into the campaign. That was just enough to overcome a $14 million opposition campaign funded by Caesars Entertainment withdrew its television advertising three weeks before election day.

First survey with an advantage of 20 percentage pointsTuesday's close vote shows how effective an opposition campaign has been in eroding support.

New constitutional amendments will take effect 30 days after the election, meaning the first legal bets in Missouri could take place as early as December 5th.

Amendment 5 supporters, who spent $4.2 million on the ballot and another $6 million on the fall campaign, have been unable to overcome skepticism about the benefits of expanded gambling generated by the anti-sports betting campaign.

Missouri voters last rejected a gambling measure in 2004, when voters rejected a proposal similar to Amendment 5. This would have approved a licensed casino for the White River near Rockaway Beach in southwest Missouri.

Under state law, casinos must be located within 1,000 feet of the main channel of the Mississippi or Missouri rivers.

The only other gambling proposal defeated was a measure that allowed betting on simulcast horse races in 1992. Voters had approved parimutuel betting on live horse racing in 1984, but no track was built.

The initiative campaign to legalize sports betting grew out of years of frustration with the General Assembly, where a Triangle debate Casinos and sports teams competed against video lottery advocates and “gray market” game providers who profit from inaction.

“We're not particularly optimistic that that's going to happen,” St. Louis Cardinals general counsel Mike Whittle said. said last year the possibilities for legislative action. “I mean, we’ve seen this movie way too many times.”

Missouri's Major League Baseball, NFL, NHL, Major League Soccer and National Women's Soccer League franchises formed the public face of the signature campaign.

The push to legalize sports betting in Missouri began after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal law against betting on sporting events in 2018. More than 35 states have legalized certain forms of gambling since the court decision, including every state bordering Missouri except Oklahoma.

Under the terms of the amendment, each of the six major professional sports teams could establish a retail sports betting location in a county near its stadium. Teams could also provide fans with a branded online betting platform.

Each of the state's six casino companies could also open retail sports betting operations at their casinos and offer an online platform.

And there would be two licenses for online betting companies with no connection to a casino or sports team in Missouri.

Gambling winnings would be taxed at 10%, but the measure allows deductions for promotional offers and federal taxes before calculating state revenue.

An economic study prepared for Winning for Missouri Education estimates that $21.8 billion will be wagered in the first five years after legalization and more than 98% of bets will be placed online.

The same study puts the state's net revenue during that period at $134 million. Fifth-year revenue is estimated at $38.7 million, about $10 million more than the maximum annual revenue projected in the tax return for the ballot measure.

There is gambling at Lake of the Ozarks, but not at a casino licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Rejecting Amendment 5 means there will be no competition for a Project started in 2021 by the Osage Nation to take a property in Miller County into trust as ancestral land where it could operate a casino and convention center.

The project is awaiting approval from federal authorities. After that, the tribe and the state will do it negotiate a contract Division of responsibilities for law enforcement on casino premises. The agreement would also provide for “taxation of such activities by the Indian Tribe in amounts comparable to the amounts assessed by the State for comparable activities.”

Tribes have the right to offer gambling consistent with what the state allows “for any purpose by any person, organization or entity.”

If the state refuses to negotiate a treaty or does not do so in good faith, the tribe can sue in federal court.