Decision On Missouri Sports-Betting Vote Only Days Away
Missouri voters will know by next week, if not sooner, whether they will get to decide this November on legalizing sports betting in the state.
By Aug. 13, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft will determine whether to issue a certificate of sufficiency to put the sports betting question on the Nov. 5 ballot, JoDonn Chaney, secretary of state spokesman, told Gambling.com on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
This week, Ashcroft’s office is analyzing and verifying the voter signatures that were submitted to the secretary of state in early May. Ashcroft has until Aug. 13 to finalize a decision, Chaney said, though the process could wrap up before then.
The signatures already have gone through a verification process across the state by 116 local election authorities, most of whom are elected county clerks, Chaney said.
Pro Sports Teams Support Sports Betting
If the sports-betting question ends up on the Nov. 5 ballot, and if voters approve the constitutional amendment, sports betting would begin no later than Dec. 1, 2025. This would allow Missouri’s 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to offer onsite and mobile sports betting.
The teams backing the measure are the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs and two soccer teams, the Kansas City Current and St. Louis City. The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are led on the field by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, pictured.
Missouri Surrounded By Legal Sports Betting States
Currently, sports betting is illegal in six of the 12 states with university athletic teams competing in the Southeastern Conference, including Missouri, where the Missouri Tigers are an SEC school.
Every state bordering Missouri, except Oklahoma, has legal sports betting. Nationwide, sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
On an episode of Gambling.com’s “The Edge,” attorney and retired Kansas City Police Department detective Gary Jenkins said he believes voters would approve a sports-betting ballot question, in part because tax dollars are going out of state from Missourians seeking to bet on sports legally.
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