There have been several attempts to bring sports betting to Missouri, but now the Show Me State’s professional sports teams are getting a boost from two mobile sports betting titans, FanDuel and DraftKings.
Show Me the Money
It appears as though a constitutional amendment will be required to bring sports betting to Missouri, which means the voters will ultimately decide in November if the ballot initiative is successful. It is not the preferred method of legalization as the traditional route would be through the legislature but because of an intractable coterie of legislators headed by Senator Denny Hoskins, the change in tactics is unavoidable.
The Winning for Missouri Education ballot initiative filed its initial 15-day report to bring a sports betting referendum to the voters in November. In a strong show of support, FanDuel and DraftKings contributed a combined $2 million in cash to the effort and an additional $500,000 of in-kind contributions.
The group must collect 180,000 signatures by May 5th to move forward with the initiative despite failing to bring the issue before the voters in the previous two years. However, the influx of money along with a seemingly more determined group led by DeWitt could finally allow Missouri voters to decide the verdict.
Sports Franchises Unite
St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III has been at the vanguard of legalizing sports betting in Missouri and he has the support of Missouri’s five other professional sports franchises, namely, the St. Louis Blues, Kansas Royals, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis City SC and the Kansas City Current.
In a press release DeWitt stated, “On behalf of our coalition of Missouri professional sports teams, we are united in our goal of supporting the legalization of sports wagering in Missouri in a reasonable, safe, and responsible way that is good for our teams, our fans, our Missouri teachers and our other citizens of Missouri.
“We would prefer to achieve this through the legislative process. However, while the sports wagering bills that we have supported during the past couple of years have overwhelmingly passed in the Missouri House and have also had the support of a majority of the Missouri Senate, those bills have been repeatedly blocked in the Missouri Senate and not allowed to proceed to a vote in the Missouri Senate.”
Hoskins’ Objection
Although previous sports betting legislation has sailed through the House, the major stumbling block comes from Senator Denny Hoskins, who insists that video lottery terminals, also known as VLTs, be included in any sports betting legislation.
That has been the major sticking point as Hoskins wants the gray market machines fully legalized and taxed as opposed to being in the crosshairs of law enforcement, of which some agencies crack down while others look the other way. The state’s casinos are vehemently opposed as these are virtually identical to slot machines and they believe they would cannibalize their business if they were to be blessed by the legislature.
Hoskins’ own endeavors have been shot down because all of them have been linked to legalizing VLTs as an accompaniment to his sports betting bills. It’s a hill Hoskins is willing to die on and his opposition to any sports betting bill without VLTs attached has not waned. Thus, the reason why a constitutional amendment is now the route sports betting proponents are being forced to travel.
