Missouri’s Professional Sports Team Petition to Legalize Sports Betting is Ready

• Daniel Horvat
• November 27, 2023

A coalition of Missouri professional sports teams is looking to offer Missouri voters a chance to vote on legalizing sports betting. This comes after a series of unsuccessful legislative attempts to legalize sports betting in the state, the last one being a debacle of Senate Bill 30.

In 2023, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a sports betting bill, marking a significant step towards legalization. The bill proposed the legalization of both in-person and online sports betting, opening up a new avenue for sports enthusiasts and potentially boosting the state’s economy. However, the bill was met with resistance in the Senate and ultimately failed to pass.

The 2023 sports betting bill in Missouri, despite passing the House of Representatives, faced a gridlocked Senate and ultimately did not pass. The bill, which had garnered support from Missouri’s casinos and professional sports teams, failed to pass after lawmakers ran out of time to discuss the bill during a contentious final day of the state’s legislative session.

One of the main reasons for the bill’s failure was the issue of Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), or slots-like gambling machines. Some senators wanted VLTs and sports betting to be two separate issues, some senators wanted them paired together, and some senators didn’t want to see any expansion of gambling in the state at all. This disagreement over VLTs was a significant factor that stalled the process.

Another point of contention was the tax rate on sports wagering. The House Bill 556 had set it at 12%, but the Senate increased it to 15%. Any changes made by the Senate would have to go back to the House for a vote, further complicating the process.

Despite an eight-hour session to get Senate Bill 30 to the finish line, no vote was taken. The issue was moved to the back burner, and with the end of the session looming, hope dwindled for sports betting to become legal in Missouri that year.

The failure of the bill in the Senate was a significant setback for proponents of sports betting in Missouri. Despite this, the appetite for sports betting legalization remains strong among legislators, citizens, and industry players. The failure of the bill has not dampened spirits but has instead fueled a renewed determination to push for legalization in the next legislative session in 2024.

Missouri’s professional sports teams have been actively involved in the push for sports betting legalization. A coalition of these teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues, and St. Louis City Soccer Club, have filed four petitions for ballot initiatives that would allow for retail and statewide digital wagering. These proposals differ only in the number of standalone mobile platforms that could be allowed, with four being the maximum, and propose a 10% tax rate and call for creation of a $5m problem gambling fund.

The initiative is now ready for the petition stage, and the organizers must now choose one of eight versions that they will put before voters as they look to collect the required 170,000 signatures in order to place sports betting on the ballot.

The teams have taken this step after the Missouri lawmakers closed their session without approving legal wagering. The teams’ initiative is a direct response to the legislative stalemate, and they aim to bring the decision to legalize wagering to the voters. The current set of proposals could potentially land on the November 2024 ballot.

Each entity, in addition to the state’s existing gambling boats, would be entitled to one license for a brick-and-mortar location and one for a digital platform. The proposals outline key details, including setting the application fees at $250,000 for a retail license and $500,000 for a digital license, prohibiting targeting minors and those on exclusion lists in advertising, and allowing for sportsbook operators to deduct up to 25% of promotional play.

Furthermore, any surplus fees from sports betting after regulatory expenses would be sent to the Compulsive Gaming Prevention Fund. Tax dollars, less expenses and RG funding, are earmarked for education initiatives. All the proposals require that wagering go live by Dec. 31, 2025. The legal age to bet would be 21, and special districts around sports stadiums with a capacity of 11,500 or more would be set up. Within those zones, the team within the district would be at liberty to have one sportsbook anywhere within the zone.

If approved, the ballot measure would allow the state’s professional sports teams and Missouri’s 13 casinos to offer both retail and online sports betting.

Bill DeWitt III, Cardinals president, said the coalition would now meet with mobile sports betting operators to discuss which version to go forward with before mapping out a strategy to collect the necessary 170,000 signatures over the coming weeks.

The coalition of sports teams has chosen to put this initiative forward and ask voters for their direct input after a series of unsuccessful legislative attempts to achieve what they wanted over the course of the last couple of years.

Cardinals president DeWitt said they would prefer avoiding the ballots if the state’s lawmakers could come to an aggreement and legalize sports betting in the next legislative session that is set to begin on January 3, 2024 and adjourn on May 10, 2024.

“I would be thrilled if we could get legislative action because then we wouldn’t have to do it. I’m hopeful, but I’m also being realistic.”, DeWitt added.

A recently conducted poll of Missouri voters suggests that any petition for legalizing sports betting will fail, as only 26% of voters were in favor of legalization, while 54% opposed legalization, and 20% are unsure.