The recent sports betting proposal in Missouri, Amendment 2, could play a pivotal role in keeping the Kansas City Chiefs in the Show Me State for several generations to come.
Pivotal Vote
Winning for Missouri Education was a cleverly named political action committee (PAC) fashioned by the six professional sports teams in the Show Me State and two of the heaviest hitters in the sports betting industry, FanDuel and DraftKings. The latter two contributed over $40 million to the effort, and the campaign emphasized that the tax revenues derived from mobile and retail sports betting would be earmarked for the state’s education system, taking the onus off the taxpayers.
The effort was countered by Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA), a group that came rather late to the party but one that was also bankrolled heavily by those who opposed the sports betting initiative. However, it was not enough to derail the blizzard of advertising by the pro-gambling cohort and ultimately convinced Missourians to approve sports betting by a stunningly narrow 50.1% of the vote.
Despite the razor-thin margin, Missourians Against Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment has stated it will not ask for a recount. Thus, the will of the people has spoken, and it could be a game-changer for Kansas City Chiefs fans in Missouri who might otherwise be watching their favorite football team play minutes away in the Kansas City, Kansas, area.
Moreover, if the Chiefs had moved to neighboring Kansas, where STAR Bonds were being sold to fund the majority of a new stadium, the Kansas City Royals were considering following the reigning Super Bowl champions with an adjacent ballpark of their own. Yet, the passage of Amendment 2 will likely have chilling effects on a migration to neighboring Kansas for both franchises.
New Revenue Streams
Sports betting in Missouri must be launched by the beginning of December 2025, and it is all but guaranteed that it will happen much sooner than later.
“The constitutional language says we have to be up and running by Dec. 1 of 2025, but it’s our hope we get there much sooner than that,” said Missouri Gaming Commission chairman Jan Zimmerman. “Optimistically, in order to get through all those administrative processes, we’re looking mid-to-late summer (2025) to get all of those things in place.”
The Chiefs are contracted to play at their current location, Arrowhead Stadium, home of GEHA Field, until January 31, 2031. That seems like a long way away, but building a stadium in a new state or undergoing extensive renovations where they are now takes years. And the citizens of Jackson County, Missouri, won’t be paying for it as they rejected extending the 3/8 cent sales tax to partially fund a new stadium by a resounding 58% to 42% in April.
Therefore, a new stadium in Missouri won’t be publicly funded, at least not directly nor at anything close to what the Chiefs were hoping for, which means the primary incentive to stay would be the introduction of new revenue streams. And that’s where Amendment 2 plays a pivotal role.
Legalized sports betting in Missouri will trigger financial escalators in the Chiefs agreements with BetMGM and DraftKings while also allowing a third sports betting partnership with another platform provider. It should also be noted that Missouri’s other sports betting franchises will also receive a piece of the sports betting pie through agreements they sign with similar sports betting operators.
Whether this will be enough to keep the Chiefs in Missouri is still unknown, but a decision as to which direction the team will take will happen very soon, perhaps before the New Year.
