Sports betting wins narrow approval in Missouri after high-dollar campaign

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fans in Missouri will be able to bet on sports next year as a result of a ballot measure that barely ed despite getting help from record-setting spending and the state’s professional teams.

State election officials on Thursday certified that the sports betting measure ed with 50.05% in the November election.

Amendmentment 2	Votes	Percentage
Yes	1,478,652	50.05%
No	1,475,691	49.95%
Total	2,954,343

Although the constitutional amendment takes effect now, betting won’t immediately begin. Under Missouri’s measure, state regulators must launch sports betting no later than Dec. 1, 2025.

A total of 38 states and Washington, D.C., already allow sports betting, which has expanded rapidly since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for it in 2018.

The $43 million campaign — a record for a Missouri ballot measure — was funded almost entirely by DraftKings and FanDuel, which dominate the nationwide sports betting marketplace. Of the total raised, a combined $2 million was chipped in by the state’s six major professional sports teams — the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, and the Kansas City Current and St. Louis City soccer teams.

Mascots for the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals haul boxes of... — Mascots for the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals haul boxes of voter signatures collected in order to put a proposal to legalize sports betting on the ballot this year, Thursday, May 2, 2024, outside the Secretary of State's Office in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Summer Ballentine)(Summer Ballentine | AP)

The $14 million opposition campaign was funded entirely by Caesars Entertainment, which operates three of Missouri’s 13 casinos.

Missouri allows recounts on ballot questions when the winning margin is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast. The deadline to request a recount is seven days after the election is certified.

ALSO READ: Local counselor warns legalized sports betting could be dangerous for some

A spokesperson for the opposition group, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, said previously in an email that it does not plan to request a recount.

Missouri’s constitutional amendment will allow each of the state’s casinos and professional sports teams to offer on-site and mobile sports betting. Teams will control on-site betting and advertising within 400 yards (366 meters) of their stadiums and arenas. The initiative also allows two mobile sports betting operators to be licensed directly by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Under the initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes must go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary and higher education.

ers turned to the initiative petition process to get the measure on the ballot after attempts to legalize sports betting repeatedly stalled in the state Senate.