Missouri Judge Delays Decision On Lawsuit To Take Sports Betting Off November Ballot
A Missouri judge wrapped up a court hearing Thursday without a decision on a lawsuit to block voters from deciding in November whether to legalize sports betting statewide.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Richard Green is expected to issue a ruling possibly as early as Friday.
The lawsuit by political consultants Jacqueline Wood and Blake Lawrence challenges whether voters should be allowed to decide in November on a constitutional amendment that would green light sports betting in Missouri
According to the lawsuit, some voter signatures submitted to the secretary of state to put the sports betting question on the Nov. 5 ballot are invalid.
The lawsuit also asserts the secretary of state used the wrong maps to determine whether a minimum number of valid voter signatures were obtained in six of the state's eight congressional districts.
Pro Teams Support Statewide Legal Sports Betting
On Aug. 13, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft declared that enough signatures are valid for the sports betting question to go before voters in November. The lawsuit was filed a short time later.
If the issue clears the legal challenge, Amendment 2 would go on the ballot in November, asking voters to decide whether to OK sports wagering for bettors who are at least 21 years old. Sports betting would begin no later than Dec. 1, 2025.
In Green’s Division 2 courtroom on Thursday, much of the afternoon testimony centered on the processes used to validate voter signatures. Among those who testified was Scott Clark, the secretary of state’s deputy chief of staff.
Late in the afternoon, an attorney for those filing the lawsuit questioned whether commercial sports betting companies were trying to buy a constitutional amendment by contributing money to Winning for Missouri Education. That organization is the campaign committee backing the ballot question. In May, Winning for Missouri Education submitted the voter signatures to the secretary of state.
With voter approval, Missouri’s casinos and six professional sports teams would be allowed to offer onsite and mobile sports betting. The Missouri Gaming Commission also would be permitted to license two additional mobile sports betting operators.
The sports 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.
Legal Sports Betting Surrounded Missouri
Currently, 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,” Gary Jenkins, an attorney and retired Kansas City Police Department detective, said he believes voters will approve a sports-betting ballot question in part because tax dollars are going to other states from Missourians seeking to bet on sports legally.
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