A coalition of professional sports teams in Missouri have filed paperwork for a ballot initiative that would authorize retail and mobile sports betting.
According to records with the office of Secretary of State John Ashcroft, the Missouri Pro Sports Betting Coalition submitted four petitions on September 8. Each petition would amend the state constitution and is near identical, save for the number of standalone mobile platforms that could launch in the state — one, two, three, or four.
That would be in addition to any retail or mobile licenses issued to riverboat casinos or professional sports teams, which could offer sports betting with special zones around their home stadiums.
Only one petition would ultimately be put before voters in the Show Me State.
The coalition submitted the petitions in an attempt to circumvent opposition to sports betting in the state Senate. Opposition has been led by Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), who wants the state to legalize video lottery terminals (VLTs) alongside sports betting. Lawmakers have to date rejected that idea.
Six teams — the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Kansas City Royals (MLB), St. Louis Blues (NHL), St. Louis Cardinals (MLB), Kansas City Current (NWSL), and St. Louis SC (MLS) — are funding the effort, which will require gathering signatures while also conducting an advertising campaign.
A similar effort in California last November cost the gaming industry millions of dollars and was ultimately unsuccessful.
- Rewarding ongoing promos
- Quality mobile app
- Great selection of sports
What the Ballot Initiatives Propose
A tax rate of 10% would be levied on retail and mobile sports betting. Application fees for a retail license would cost $250,000 while a mobile license would cost $500,000. Both types of licenses would have five-year terms and could be renewed for an additional five years for the same cost.
Each petition would define a sports district for retail and sports betting as a zone surrounding any sports stadium that can seat 11,500 people or more, and where one or more professional sports teams play their home games. The zone would include an area within 400 yards of the stadium.
The first $5 million in annual revenue from sports betting would go toward a newly-established Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund. Elementary, secondary, and higher education in the state would receive the remainder of tax revenue.
Operators would be allowed to deduct 25% of free play or promo costs in any calendar month. They would also be required to ensure that their advertising and marketing doesn’t target minors or anyone who has self-excluded from sports betting — which under each petition would launch by December 31, 2025.
Unlike in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and some other states, wagers on in-state college sports would be allowed.
How a Ballot Initiative Would Become Law
The ballot initiative process has multiple steps.
Once a petition is submitted to the secretary of state, copies are sent to the attorney general and the state auditor. It is also posted on the secretary of state’s website, where it is made available for a 15-day public comment period. Since each was submitted on September 8, the public comment period is scheduled to end on September 23.
The AG has ten days to review the petition and forward comments to the secretary of state, and the auditor’s office has 20 days to prepare a fiscal note and a fiscal note summary for the AG. Meanwhile, the secretary of state has 15 days to either approve or reject the petition, and must promptly inform the petitioner of their decision.
If approved, the secretary of state will prepare a proposed ballot summary statement. The statement is forwarded to the AG within 23 days of the petition’s approval by the secretary of state. The AG then has ten days to forward its review of the statement with the secretary of state.
At this point, the AG will either forward its approval or rejection of the aforementioned fiscal note and fiscal note summary to the auditor’s office. The auditor’s office, in turn, will forward both to the secretary of state.
The secretary of state then has three days to certify an official ballot title, which includes the ballot summary statement and the fiscal note summary. The ballot title is then posted onto the secretary of state’s website.
Petitioners must deliver the required number of signatures to the secretary of state’s office six months before the election, which in this case would be May 5, 2024.
For petitions that propose changes to the state constitution, at least 8% of legal voters in any of the state’s six congressional districts must provide their signature. According to Ashcroft’s office, that amounts to a minimum of 171,592 signatures.
Hoskins has proven to be a successful obstructionist. Meanwhile, neighboring Kansas beat Missouri to the punch and launched sports betting more than one year ago.
Missourians attempted to access legal sportsbooks in other states a quarter-of-a-million times and were blocked from betting on Super Bowl LVII last February.
