Winning for Missouri Education, the state’s political action committee tasked with getting the required signatures on a ballot initiative to bring mobile sports betting to the Show Me State has submitted nearly double the required signatures and is now waiting for certification from the Secretary of State’s office before the referendum goes to the voters.
The Waiting Game
The signature drive whose goal demanded approximately 180,000 registered Missouri voters submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by May 7th was accomplished and then some. Winning for Missouri Education, the PAC behind the ballot initiative to bring the question of sports betting to the state’s voters, submitted over 340,000 signatures.
But now the Secretary of State must scrutinize those signatures and if 180,000 are validated then the game is truly on and Missouri voters can expect to see a blizzard of advertising advocating for the legalization of retail and mobile sports betting.
Advocacy and Support
“As one of only 12 states without legalized sports betting, Missouri took a significant step forward today in ensuring that these revenues stay in Missouri to help our communities and classrooms,” said Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education, after the signatures were submitted. “We are grateful for the support from Missouri’s professional sports franchises, who have been crucial in creating the opportunity for Missourians to vote directly on this issue in November.”
The verdict is still out but at some point in August, the Secretary of State’s office will notify the Winning for Education lobbying group as to whether the referendum will reach the voters in November. The campaign has already raised $6.5 million with FanDuel contributing $4 million while Boston-based DraftKings contributed $2 million. There were no contributions to the campaign between March 1 and June 30 according to the group’s second-quarter financial disclosure reports.
However, should the signature drive prove successful, expect a significant influx of contributions to get the word out and convince Missouri’s voters that mobile sports betting will greatly assist the state’s educational institutions. Expect the message to focus on this new industry saving residents the tax increases that would otherwise be foisted upon them to support the spiraling costs of education.
Legislature Fails to Agree
The Missouri legislature couldn’t get sports betting passed and it had nothing to do with vehement objections by other legislators. The unbreachable rift had everything to do with linking the legalization of video lottery terminals (VLTs), aka gray machines, slot-type betting machines dotting truck stops, convenience stores, and veterans’ halls throughout the state, with sports betting legislation.
Those bills had been repeatedly voted down and lawmakers wanted to debate them as a separate and distinct issue from sports betting. However, the powerful advocates that the gray machine lobbyists had in the legislature demanded the two be linked or they would not allow passage of mobile sports betting.
This political divide caused several mobile sports betting bills to die in chambers which prompted action from the state’s professional sports franchises including the Cardinals, Royals, Chiefs, Blues, Current, and City FC, to organize an appeal of its own. This led to the creation of Winning for Missouri Education whose title references the influx of money that will be earmarked to support education in the state derived directly from the tax on sports betting operators.
The professional sports franchises as well as the casino industry are fully supportive of mobile sports betting as both will benefit financially. Of the 13 casinos in Missouri, all of them are tied to major mobile sports betting platform providers like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, and Bally Bet either through direct ownership or deals allowing them access to the market.
Professional sports franchises in Missouri will also benefit as they will be paid by the sportsbooks through sponsorship agreements. But until sports betting is legalized neither the casinos nor the sports franchises will see any of that revenue.
