Giving voters a say
A coalition of Missouri’s major league franchises has launched a campaign aimed at empowering voters to legalize sports betting in the state.
The pro teams announced the campaign, named Winning for Missouri Education, on Friday, in an effort to bypass lawmakers who continue to put the kibosh on legalizing sports betting in Missouri.
The St. Louis Cardinals lead the six franchise campaign, which also includes MLB team Kansas City Royals, the MLS’ St. Louis City FC and Kansas City Current, the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, and the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
the campaign has until May 8 to gather between 171,592 and 188,537 signature
The group will collect signatures to push sports betting onto the 2024 ballot. To succeed, the campaign has until May 8 to gather between 171,592 and 188,537 signatures, depending on which eight districts they choose.
Persistence is futile
Cardinals President Bill DeWitt explained the initiative in a news release. He stated that despite years of effort, getting lawmakers to approve sports betting have proven futile. DeWitt stated the six pro teams formed the sports betting initiative campaign because they are “not optimistic that this pattern will change during the upcoming legislative session.”
Sports betting bills have passed the Missouri House in 2022 and 2023, only to die on the Senate floor. Senator Denny Hoskins, the key lawmaker behind the impasse, demands any legislation ties sports betting with video slot machines.
Battle lines drawn
Missouri Senate President Caleb Rowden, however, poured cold water on the franchise’s initiative at a Thursday news conference, citing the division over slot machines.
“I don’t think anything is different this year one way or the other. I don’t know that it makes a tremendous difference in this chamber,” Rowden said, adding:
Both sides are pretty entrenched.”
Nevertheless, the new initiative by the six franchises is backed by both FanDuel and DraftKings. Last week, the two sportsbooks donated $250,000 each to the campaign’s committee.