A coalition of the six major professional sports franchises in Missouri announced it had over 100,000 signatures but needs roughly 80,000 more before the question of sports betting will be on the ballot in November.
What’s In a Name?
The campaign to get sports betting in front of the voters is cleverly disguised as Winning for Missouri Education but the forces behind it are Missouri’s six pro sports teams including:
- St. Louis Cardinals
- St. Louis Blues
- St. Louis SC
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Kansas City Royals
- Kansas City Current
Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III has been the most vocal proponent for bringing sports betting to the Missouri masses as his franchise, along with the five others mentioned, will enjoy a yet untapped revenue stream that will flow from partnerships with online sportsbooks entering the market once it is legalized. And yes, the state’s education system will also get a boost from the taxes that will be collected on the sportsbooks’ revenues.
There is little doubt that Winning for Missouri Education will garner more sympathy and support for sports betting than had the name been Winning for Corporate Coffers. Nevertheless, sports betting will indeed benefit both, and had the Missouri legislature been able to break the political logjam over the topic, these drastic measures would not be needed.
Before the campaign was launched, Bill DeWitt put the blame squarely on the lawmakers, saying he had no choice, “Therefore, as we are not optimistic that this pattern will change during the upcoming legislative session, we are currently proceeding with an initiative petition campaign to put the issue of legalized sports wagering on the ballot for Missouri voters in 2024, and, beginning this week, we are launching our campaign and will be collecting signatures to support this initiative petition.”
Above and Beyond
The signature collections are well underway and the campaign got a substantial boost with a pair of $250,000 checks from FanDuel and DraftKings, the two leading online sportsbooks in the industry. Last week it was announced the group had gathered 100,000 of the approximately 180,000 signatures needed to be submitted to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office on or before May 5th.
At this rate, the organization believes they will have over 300,000 verified signatures by the deadline and a recent poll conducted by Emerson College has revealed that 62% of Missourians support mobile sports betting. Therefore, it would stand to reason that if this initiative does reach the ballot box, then the voters will likely get their wish and so too will the professional sports franchises in the Show Me State.
“We are seeing strong support in the signature gathering effort because Missourians know it is time to legalize sports betting and use the funding for education,” said campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti. “It’s not only good for our economy but will support our teachers and future generations of Missourians for years to come.”
And Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden didn’t disagree with DeWitt, saying, “I don’t think anything is different this year one way or the other. I don’t know that it makes a tremendous difference in this chamber. Both sides are pretty entrenched.”
