Pro Teams Take Charge on Missouri Sports Betting Legalization

• A coalition of Missouri professional sports teams have banded together in support of four sports betting voting initiatives
• Led by the St. Louis Cardinals, the coalition is no longer optimistic that state lawmakers can pass a sports betting bill
• Four sports betting initiatives have been submitted to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office

Missouri professional sports teams are no longer optimistic that state lawmakers can pass a Missouri sports betting bill and have decided to band together to find a new path towards legalization.

After missing out on potentially millions of dollars in sports betting tax revenue over the last several years, a coalition of state sports franchises, led by representatives from the St. Louis Cardinals, submitted four sports betting initiative petitions to the Missouri Secretary of State on Sept. 9. The petitions all seek to legalize Missouri retail and online sports betting, with state casinos and professional sports franchises eligible for licenses.

Each petition could potentially find its way onto the November 2024 general election ballot.

Putting the Power to the Voters

The St. Louis Cardinals are joined by the Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City, and Kansas City Current in support of the ballot initiatives.

“Each of the organizations within our coalition supports legalization of sports wagering in Missouri as a way to increase engagement with our fans and, ultimately, generate a significant new source of revenue for Missouri. This will keep Missourians from going to other states with legalized sports betting and taking tax revenue into those states. It will keep us as sports teams competitive with our counterparts in other states with legalized sports betting,” Mike Whittle, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the St. Louis Cardinals, told Sports Betting Dime.

The petitions, 2024-135, 2024-136, 2024-137, and 2024-138 were filed by Alixandra Cossette, an attorney who previously filed nine sports betting petitions to legalize in 2021. Each petition sets a sports betting tax rate of 10%, retail licenses at a price of $250,000, and online sports betting licenses at $500,000. License holders will have to pay a license renewal fee every five years.

Each Missouri professional sports franchise and casino will be eligible for a retail and online sports betting license. Missouri sports franchises and casinos are eligible to partner with sports betting operators for their programs.

The only difference in each of the petitions is the number of potentially awarded standalone online sports betting licenses in the state, which range from one to four.

The coalition is working closely with the Sports Betting Alliance, a group consisting of representatives from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics Betting and Gaming, to bring the initiatives to Missouri voters.

“Like the vast majority of Americans, we support legalized and responsibly regulated sports betting as an exciting new way for fans to engage with their favorite teams and sports. We welcome and encourage the progress being made in Missouri, and believe all of our fans should have the same opportunities as those in Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas and other states across the country,” a Kansas City Royals team representative told Sports Betting Dime.

Likeliest Pathway to Sports Betting Legalization

While the professional teams would still prefer sports betting legalization to come in the form of an approved bill from the Missouri House and Senate, Whittle said the franchises no longer view this pathway as much of a possibility.

“Not that we were wearing rose colored glasses before, but I think we’re certainly not optimistic at this point that anything will change in the legislature,” he said.

It has been frustrating to watch sports betting discussions be derailed the past two years by Senators who support the legalization of video lottery terminals (VLTs) and their insistence that the two issues be handled together, Whittle said.

“We would prefer still to achieve the goal through the legislative process. Sports betting bills have been supported overwhelmingly by the Missouri House over the last two years, and have had the support of the majority of the Missouri Senate. But, this has been constantly blocked in the Missouri Senate and not allowed to proceed to a vote based on the VLT issue that’s consistently trying to be attached to sports betting,” Whittle said. 

He noted that frustration among teams in Missouri came to a head last year when a House approved sports betting bill that did not include legalized VLTs was blocked on the Senate floor. The sports betting bill was called to the  floor in April and quickly became mired in 12 proposed amendments during eight hours of discussion. Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34) eventually pulled his bill, SB 30, from the Senate floor without a vote being taken.

It was never again introduced to the Senate floor.

Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-21), whether earned or not, has become the Senator most viewed as the reason for the sports betting holdup in the state. A proponent of VLTs, Hoskins floated an amendment to include the legalization of the machines in Luetkemeyer’s bill during the eight-hour discussion. His amendment was defeated on the Senate floor. Later during the hearing he was heard on mic asking Sen. Luetkemeyer to pull his bill from the floor or he would talk “for three hours.”

Hoskins also filibustered a sports betting bill in 2022 when it made it to the Senate floor. The bill was never brought to the floor again.

The sports franchises have taken notice of the efforts from Hoskins and other Senators to block standalone sports betting bills.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating and it reflects a broken system where one or two, if not just one, Senators can block something by filibustering or threatening to filibuster unless another issue, a losing issue, is attached to it. That doesn’t seem like the right way to get something done,” Whittle said.

Sports Betting Dime spoke briefly with Hoskins today about the submitted sports betting initiatives. The Senator said he was dismayed to see no revenues included in the initiatives for Missouri Veteran Homes and Cemeteries and no increase in funding to the problem gaming fund.

Casinos will net over $25 million each if sports betting is legalized, Hoskins claimed.

“Missouri would net hardly any tax revenue after the state pays for the increase in problem and compulsive gambling counseling and programs caused by sportsbook and the costs of administering/regulating sportsbook,” he told Sports Betting Dime.

Little bit of a hot mic moment from Sen. Denny Hoskins last night as he was explaining yet another amendment for Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s Missouri sports betting bill.

“Are you pulling this or am I talking for three hours?”

Luetkemeyer pulled the bill shortly thereafter. pic.twitter.com/KTFEq6lIh6

— RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl) April 6, 2023

Sports Betting Initiative Details

Whittle said the coalition believes the Missouri Secretary of State will likely take about 60 days to determine potential approval of the initiative. If approved, the collection of verified signatures will begin immediately and run through May 8, the deadline to get an initiative on the 2024 ballot.

To be placed on the ballot at least 8% of registered voters’ signatures in six of eight Missouri districts must be collected, which is a minimum of 171,592 signatures.

If approved, the sports betting age in Missouri would be set at 21. If awarded a retail sports betting license, professional sports franchises could host a sportsbook within their arena or stadium, or they could construct a standalone sportsbook in a special “sports district” within 400 yards of the facility. Sports betting advertisements and promotions would be restricted to this special district, according to the petitions.

The sports betting launch date would be set no later than Dec. 31, 2025.

Sports betting tax revenues will first reimburse expenses incurred by the state for sports betting, will fund the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund until it has $5 million in assets, and any remaining revenue  will support elementary, secondary, and higher education in the state.

If there are more applicants than allowed standalone online sports betting licenses, the state will award licenses based on the applicant’s history of generating sports betting tax revenue in at least 10 jurisdictions.