Missouri Sports Betting Officially Approved With Confirmed Ballot Results
“The people have spoken,” said Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft last week of Amendment 2, which legalizes sports betting in the Show Me State. The amendment passed extremely narrowly, receiving 50.05% of the votes on Election Day.
The Missouri Board of State Canvassers certified the election results last week, which had the amendment receiving 2,961 more yes votes than nos.
As a result, Missourians will be able to wager on sports legally in 2025. Amendment 2 has a launch date deadline of Dec. 1, 2025, though Missouri Gaming Commission Executive Director Mike Leara said the state hopes to launch Missouri sportsbooks by late spring or early summer.
Voters overcome state’s seven-year rejection
Missouri is the 39th state to legalize sports betting, accomplishing the feat through the ballot initiative process.
Voters took matters into their own hands after Missouri legislators failed to legalize sports betting during every legislative session since 2018. Sen. Denny Hoskins introduced the state’s first sports betting bill in February 2018 in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning PASPA — the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act — which served as a federal ban on sports betting.
While PASPA was overturned that year, Hoskins’ bill failed, and he would eventually stand in the way of future progress. Sports betting failed to pass for multiple years as Hoskins tried to legalize video lottery terminals alongside it.
Sports betting proponents do just enough
The political action committee Winning for Missouri Education led the movement, backed primarily by DraftKings and FanDuel, which contributed more than $40 million to the cause. Missouri’s six major professional sports teams donated a combined $2 million more.
In the end, it proved just enough to succeed. Ashcroft and Cole County Circuit Judges Jon Beetem and Daniel Green reviewed the official results and signed Amendment 2 into law on Thursday, Dec. 4.
“With November’s results now official, we are pleased to have completed another election cycle. The success of this election is respective of the patronage of Missouri’s voters, election authorities and poll workers,” Ashcroft said.
Missouri sports betting amendment details
The Missouri sports betting amendment creates the following conditions:
- Each of Missouri’s casinos and professional sports teams receives a license to operate an onsite sportsbook and an online one, either on their own or through partnering with an established online betting provider.
- The Missouri Gaming Commission can license two additional online sportsbooks.
- The state will impose a tax of 10% on sportsbook revenue. The national average is around 19%.
- That tax money will go toward elementary, secondary and higher education, minus a compulsory $5 million in licensing fees annually.
“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.
The MGC has just under a year to roll out the state’s sports betting launch. Leara told the Missouri Independent that the commission plans to use emergency rules to expedite the process.
Those plans include accepting applications in January. If everything goes according to plan, the state could award its first licenses by late June.
Even if it doesn’t, Missouri has a two-month window beyond that to launch before football season, and it has five months of a buffer to hit its deadline.
