Missouri to allow sports betting after narrow ballot approval

Currently, 38 states and Washington DC have legalized sports betting in the US since 2018.

After receiving 50.05% support on a ballot measure during the November election, the state of Missouri will begin allowing sports betting starting in 2025. The ballot received record-setting funding, almost entirely from DraftKings and FanDuel, including $43m worth of support. 

Under Missouri’s new measure, state regulators must launch sports betting no later than December 1, 2025.

Currently, 38 states and Washington DC have legalized sports betting in the US since 2018.

“Joining the 38 other states that already allow sports betting will allow us to further engage with our fans, while keeping tens of millions in Missouri for the benefit of our classrooms and communities,” St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said in a statement on December 5. 

The professional baseball team, along with other professional sports franchises in Missouri, raised a combined $2m in funding for the ballot measure. 

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

The state does allow for recounts on ballot measures with less than a 0.5% winning margin, but a spokesperson for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment stated that there are no plans to request a recount. 

Good to know: A bill to ban smoking in both Kansas and Missouri casinos could be on the table for 2025’s legislative session, according to local reports on December 5

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 of its stadiums and arenas. 

The initiative also allows two mobile sports betting operators to be licensed directly by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Missouri will impose a 10% tax on sports betting revenue, which is below the national average of 19% that sportsbooks paid to states last year.

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

Kirk Geller

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