Supporters of a Missouri sports betting legalization measure have denied accusations in a lawsuit filed last week that the referendum was improperly approved, arguing the question should remain on the upcoming ballot.
Winning For Missouri Education, the committee leading efforts to legalize sports betting in the state, filed initial responses last week to a lawsuit by two Missouri residents arguing the measure was improperly tabulated. The committee wrote the counting was conducted under Missouri law and that at least one of the plaintiffs had no legal standing to sue.
“Plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted,” the committee wrote after a line-by-line response of the claim. “The Sports Wagering Petition has sufficient signatures to qualify for the November 2024 General Election Ballot regardless of the method by which those signatures are counted or apportioned.”
The committee further argued that Jacqueline Wood, one of the two named plaintiffs, didn’t have standing to sue because she didn’t sign the initial petition that placed the sports betting measure on the ballot.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5, with the first absentee ballots set to go out Sept. 24. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Potential consequences
The plaintiffs hope the lawsuit will stop the sports betting authorization question from making the 2024 ballot. If successful, Missouri voters will have no avenue to approve legal sports betting this year.
Proponents would have to try again for the next ballot, which isn’t scheduled until 2026. Advocates could also try to pass sports betting through the legislature, but those efforts have failed in each of the past few legislative sessions, leading to plans to get the question directly before voters.
The Show Me state would be the 39th jurisdiction to legalize if the lawsuit fails and a majority of local voters approve the Missouri sports betting referendum on the upcoming ballot. It would also become the first state to approve legal sports betting this year.
DraftKings and FanDuel, the two national market share leaders, have contributed roughly $10 million to the campaign, generating most of Winning for Missouri Education’s funding. Other major brands such as Caesars, ESPN BET, Bally’s, and BetMGM, all of which have market access deals with Missouri riverboat casinos, would also be among the companies set to enter the state.
Missouri’s 13 casinos could also open retail sportsbooks. Tax revenues generated from legal sportsbooks would go to public education funding.
Case background
Missouri law requires citizen-initiated ballot measures to collect valid signatures exceeding 8% of the votes in the most recent gubernatorial election in six of the state’s eight congressional districts. Proponents, backed by DraftKings and FanDuel as well as the state’s major pro sports teams, submitted roughly twice the necessary signatures spread across the eight congressional districts.
However, the campaign didn’t actively pursue signatures in the state's two most rural districts, meaning it had to exceed the verified signature total in the remaining six. The Secretary of State’s office deemed there were enough valid signatures in all six districts earlier this month, but a few were only by narrow margins.
In the First District, which encompasses St. Louis, Secretary of State John Ashcroft certified only 25,714 of the 55,864 submitted signatures, just 82 more than the district’s minimum.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit looking to stop Missouri sports betting argue that there weren’t enough valid signatures in the First District. They argue the sports betting committee only received enough signatures in five of the eight districts, meaning the referendum is ineligible for the ballot.
A Missouri court will hold a hearing Sept. 5 on a lawsuit to stop the sports betting referendum from the upcoming ballot; Missouri voters can request absentee ballots as early as Sept. 24
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) August 26, 2024
The plaintiffs further argue the entire collection process was flawed.
Instead of collecting total thresholds that vary by district, the opponents said Missouri law requires Ashcroft to use the same figure for all eight districts. Under that methodology, all eight districts would require 30,122 minimum verified signatures, meaning that they fell short in not just the two uncontested districts but the First and Fifth, which encompasses Kansas City.
St. Louis and Kansas City host the state’s two largest population centers and all pro sports teams. Proponents are depending on the two metro areas to drive up the “yes” vote against potential opposition in the state’s rural areas should the referendum stay on the ballot.
Sports betting advocates, including St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt, denounced the conjecture that the campaign hadn’t generated sufficient valid signatures.
“This effort to decertify our ballot initiative is completely without merit, as Missourians came out in force to sign the petition that will be on the ballot in November,” DeWitt said in a statement provided to Missouri media outlets.
