When last we looked in on the Show Me state, Missouri did not have legal sports betting. They still don’t.
But according to one report, a campaign to legalize it is “gaining significant traction.” The effort to get the issue on the ballot this November is inching closer to the required 180,000 signatures necessary to secure a position. The campaign has more than 100,000. Winning for Missouri Education has set a lofty goal of 300,000 signatures by the May 5 deadline.
The coalition behind the campaign centers around the state’s six professional teams.
“We are seeing strong support in the signature gathering effort because Missourians know it is time to legalize sports betting and use the funding for education,” campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti told Yogonet Gaming News.
Under the proposal, the 13 casinos and the pro teams could add brick-and-mortar sportsbooks plus online versions, all regulated by the Missouri Gaming Commission. A 10 percent tax on revenue would support public education.
The involvement of the professional teams in the petition drive came after years of failure on the part of lawmakers. Casinos also opposed marrying sports betting to the regulation of video lottery games.
A recent poll from Emerson College showed that 62 percent of voters support sports wagering.
A nick in the armor of support rests with Republican efforts to remove the current referendum standards of a simple majority of voters. The concern has to do with a push to secure abortion rights by ballot. The Senate passed a resolution in late February to get voter opinion on having future constitutional amendment initiatives require majorities statewide plus in five of eight congressional districts.
