Missouri voters will be able to approve legal sports betting on this fall’s ballot.
The Secretary of State’s office Tuesday certified that enough valid signatures were gathered to place the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot. Approximately 180,000 signatures were required. Now, if approved by a simple majority of voters, Missouri residents and visitors will have access to statewide mobile sportsbooks by 2025.
The announcement was celebrated by Winning for Missouri Education, the coalition behind the ballot measure and led by Missouri's six pro sports franchises.
"Missouri is now just one step away from joining most other states in legalizing sports betting and being able to provide millions of dollars to Missouri classrooms," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a press release.
What comes next
The ballot measure certification kicks off what could be a frantic three-month campaign to draw voter support.
Preliminary polling shows a close race. Missouri has for several decades had a permissive attitude toward riverboat casino gaming along the two rivers that border the state, but it may not carry over to statewide mobile sports betting. The state, once the quintessential American political electoral bellwether, has trended more politically and culturally conservative in the rural areas outside the Kansas City and St. Louis metros.
The two major urban areas will be key catalysts to drive up the “yes” votes. Illinois and Kansas, which border St. Louis and Kansas City, respectively, both permit legal sports betting, drawing Missouri bettors across state lines. This has been a major driver of support from elected officials in those jurisdictions to support mobile sports betting.
Missouri’s major pro sports teams are also leading supporters. The NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, NHL’s St. Louis Blues and MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals helped spearhead the signature drive earlier this year. They will be expected to be significant contributors in the coming months.
Major sportsbooks, not surprisingly, will too.
FanDuel has contributed $4 million and DraftKings has contributed $2 million to the Missouri online sports betting authorization ballot measure, per the most recently available financial data; updated totals are expected to be released later this month
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) July 9, 2024
DraftKings and FanDuel have combined to contribute nearly all of the more than $6 million raised for the signature-gathering campaign and subsequent ballot support efforts for Missouri sports betting. The two betting operators, which combined generate roughly two-thirds of national sports betting revenue, will likely be the most prominent gaming industry proponents in the coming months.
BetMGM, the No. 3 book by national market share, has a pre-arranged market access deal in the Show Me State. Caesars, Bally’s, and ESPN BET operator PENN Entertainment all operate Missouri casinos and would also be set to launch their respective mobile sportsbooks. Other national brands including bet365, Fanatics, Hard Rock, and BetRivers could also pursue market access.
The lack of an organized opposition group could boost the “yes” campaign. Though conservative, religious, and anti-gambling groups could work to counter the measure, the current lack of an organized opposition group gives a leg up to supporters.
If approved, the books would still need to earn certification from state regulators. Assuming a similar launch timeline as most other legal sports betting states, the first books would be positioned to take bets sometime in 2025, likely before that year’s football season.
The state's brick-and-mortar casinos could also open retail sportsbooks. Mobile wagering would be projected to make up more than 90% of total wagering handle.
Nationwide impact
If approved, Missouri will join 38 other states, Washington, D.C, and Puerto Rico among jurisdictions with legal sports betting.
Six of the eight states bordering Missouri already offer statewide mobile sports betting. A seventh, Nebraska, has retail sportsbooks and lawmakers are currently considering mobile wagering authorization. That would leave Oklahoma as the only neighboring state without legal betting.
Missouri would also secure one of the last major untapped potential sports betting markets. The Show Me State joins California, Texas, and Georgia as the only states with three or more professional sports teams in the four largest pro leagues and no legal betting options.
