Missouri gubernatorial candidates give backing to proposed sports betting bill
State’s republican governor and Democrat representative both throw their support behind legislation in first debate ahead of November’s election
Politicians in Missouri have given their support to the proposed sports betting legislation introduced in the Show-Me state.
Republican governor Mike Kehoe and Democrat Crystal Quade both spoke in favor of the Amendment 2 proposal during the first round of gubernatorial debates leading up to November’s general election.
Kehoe argued sports betting should be legalized as it is in Missouri’s adjoining states, while Quade said state lawmakers were ignoring what residents really wanted by not passing the legislation.
Winning for Missouri Education, the state’s pro-sports betting lobby group, expressed its delight at receiving political backing for Amendment 2.
The group’s spokesperson Jack Cardetti said: “We are honored that the two leading candidates to be Missouri’s next chief executive both endorse legalizing sports betting as a new permanent, dedicated funding source for our classrooms, and plan to vote ‘yes’ to Amendment 2.”
Amendment 2 will be included on the ballot for November’s election, giving Missouri citizens the opportunity to vote on whether sports betting should be legalized.
Winning for Missouri Education, which was responsible for collecting the requisite number of signatures to put the legislation on November’s ballot, has received more than $14m worth of funding from operators DraftKings and FanDuel.
The former made a fresh donation to the campaign last week, taking its total contribution to $10m.
Conversely, Amendment 2 has also faced significant opposition from vocal groups within Missouri.
Winning for Missouri Education faced accusations it had fraudulently gathered the 180,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot and it took a state county court ruling to decide the proposal’s fate.
Furthermore, lobby group Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA) formed earlier this month to oppose Amendment 2.
The group argued the bill would allow operators to exploit constitutional loopholes and avoid paying tax revenues to the state, claiming that there was no specific stipulation in the drafted legislation that would guarantee any money went back to the state.
MADOGA also received funding from Caesars Entertainment, which donated $4m to the campaign earlier this month.
Meanwhile, an economic study released this week by Winning for Missouri Education estimated sports betting in Missouri would generate $3.4bn in handle in its first year.
The report, conducted with analyst firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, also projected potential gross gaming revenue of $335m in year one, rising to as high as $560m by year five.