Missouri Sports Betting Stays on November 2024 Ballot

Voters in The Show Me State will officially have the opportunity to decide on the fate of Missouri sports betting during the November 2024 election.

This, of course, was always the plan. Pro sports teams in the state, with financial backing from top online sportsbooks in the United States, put together a petition with nearly 400,000 signatures in order to put sports wagering on the 2024 electoral ballot. However, a recent (and somewhat mysterious) lawsuit brought the validity of the measure into question.

Those behind the suit argued that the coalition sponsoring the petition, Winning for Missouri Education, was using outmoded parameters to push it through. (Note: Winning for Missouri Education is a coalition mostly made up of the state’s pro sports teams behind the bill.) Earlier this month, though, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel R. Green ruled in favor of Secretary of State John Ashcroft, the main defendant in the suit. This clears the way for voters to decide whether they will legalize sports betting in Missouri this coming November.

Was This Lawsuit Ever Really a Threat to Missouri Sports Betting?

Any curveballs throughout the sports betting legalization process are always taken seriously. The matter is so delicate that stakeholders have no choice. That is especially true now. Missouri is one of just 12 states without some form of legal sports betting already in place. To go this long without it means opposition is strong—and potentially prevalent.

Still, even as the lawsuit made its way up the ladder, it never quite seemed like a viable threat. For starters, we still do not know the origin behind it. Jacqueline Wood is the main plaintiff listed, and she has said that she brought the suit at the request of her lawyers. Pat Evans of Legal Sports Report attempts to connect the dots below:

“Wood and fellow plaintiff Blake Lawrence are political consultants who largely work with Democratic clients. Marc Ellinger, the chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association, led the team of attorneys behind the plaintiffs. In the past, Ellinger has represented the Missouri Gaming Association, which remained quiet during the sports betting ballot initiative and lawsuit. The association represents the casino operators in the state, including Caesars Entertainment and Penn Entertainment.”

At their kindest, these circumstances are bizarre. They may also be suspicious. The absence of a clear-cut backer—and the motives that come with it—definitely did the lawsuit a disservice.

Remove the ambiguity of the plaintiffs from the equation, and the lawsuit is still difficult to understand. In Layman’s terms, it argues that the Missouri sports betting petition needed a larger share of signatures throughout certain districts. But the stipulations in general call for 140,000 participants. Winning for Missouri Education provided more than double that. Even if there is a larger than anticipated margin for error, it feels like the bill’s sponsors rallied more than enough signatures to offset it.

Winning for Missouri Education is Bullish on the Future of Sports Betting

After Judge Green ruled in favor of the petition, Winning for Missouri Education released the following statement through spokesman Jack Cardetti (via Legal Sports Report):

“Today’s ruling, while expected, is nevertheless a big victory for Missourians, who overwhelmingly want to join the 38 other states that allow sports betting, so that we can provide tens of millions in permanent, dedicated funding each year to our public schools. For too many years, Missourians have watched as fans cross state lines to place sports bets, which deprives our Missouri public schools of much needed funding. A vote for Amendment 2 in November will bring those dollars back to Missouri classrooms.”

Experts in the field believe Missouri sports betting Amendment 2 may eventually be worth almost $600 million per year in additional revenue. Much of that money will be funneled toward the school system.

Not surprisingly, this is a big selling point for policymakers on the fence about bringing sports betting to Missouri. It is also a huge talking point in the pitch to voters.

And yet, Cardetti’s statement is interesting. Read between the lines, and it sounds as if Winning for Missouri Education is beyond certain that Amendment 2 will pass. But is that accurate?

Support for Sports Betting in Missouri May Be Trending Up

It turns out Missouri sports betting supporters have reason to be optimistic.

A recent poll shows that more than half of The Show Me State’s residents support legalized sports betting. This is a stark departure from previous results. Back in 2023, two separate polls showed that most residents actively opposed Missouri sports betting.

Fast forward to January 2024, and sentiment has apparently changed. Conducted by Fox 4 and Emerson College, this survey shows that 62 percent of respondents are in favor of Missouri sports betting. On top of that, another poll from February 2024 by Saint Louis University and YouGov backs up these findings. About 60 percent of those respondents support the legalization of Missouri sports betting.

With margins for error below 5 percent, both of these polls suggest that voters will approve of Amendment 2 in November. At the same time, things can change between now and then. Counter-campaigning will also play a factor. Opposing stakeholders will almost certainly broadcast messaging to disparage Amendment 2.

Whether this matters remains to be seen. But there is a chance it can. Just look back at the effort to legalize California online sports betting in 2022. Counter-campaigning effectively submarine two separate sports betting bills. And mind you, this was in a state considered a formality to approve sports betting. As a largely conservative state, Missouri may be even more of a wild card.

Still, one way or another, the fate of Missouri sports betting will play out soon—in a matter of weeks.

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