And Oklahoma, regardless of the Missouri vote, with 143 casinos — more than 10 times the number in Missouri — will remain among a handful of states that have taken no action since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a federal ban on sports betting outside of Nevada.

Missouri Amendment 2 would legalize sports betting in the Show-me State, and it has the backing of all major sports franchises located there, including the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City, and the Cardinals and Blues in St. Louis.

“From everything I’ve heard, and I’ve heard from a lot of people who are clients of mine … they live in Missouri and go over to the Kansas side to bet … it’s going to pass,” said Jack “The Fat Jack” Ross, a professional sports better and handicapper who grew up in Norman and has been in the business 25 years. He appears on many radio and TV sports stations across the country.

The Missouri amendment was placed on the November ballot by initiative petition after legislation to legalize sports betting repeatedly stalled in the state Senate.

The $43 million campaign for its passage — a record for a Missouri ballot measure — has been funded entirely by DraftKings and FanDuel, which dominate the nationwide sports betting marketplace.

If it passes, the companies could apply for two statewide licenses to conduct online sports betting. The amendment authorizes additional sports betting licenses for Missouri casinos and professional sports teams.

The amendment would allow Missouri’s 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to offer onsite and mobile sports betting. Teams would control onsite betting and advertising within 400 yards of their stadiums and arenas.

The initiative also would allow two mobile sports betting operators to be licensed directly by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Under the initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes would go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary and higher education.

Proponents of the measure in broadcast advertisements have said $100 million is “guaranteed” go to education.

But because of deductions for “free play,” there could be some months in which sportsbooks owe nothing to the state.

Missouri’s proposed constitutional amendment acknowledges that possibility, stating that negative balances can be carried over from one month to the next until revenue rises enough to owe taxes.

If approved by voters, state regulators would have to launch sports betting no later than Dec. 1.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision more than six years ago, nearly 40 states have approved some sort of legalized sports betting.

A big discussion among state and tribal officials in various states that already have legalized it is whether and how to regulate online sports betting — as opposed to betting in-person, at a brick and mortar casino — gaming industry officials have said.

That means it’s a matter of which entity is getting the money and how much, when someone picks up their phone and wants to make a bet.

“That is a huge part of this whole equation,” Ross said. “The online betting services are what people want, … and it generates huge revenue … for everybody.”

Stephen Crystal of Las Vegas-based SCCG Management, said as much during the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association’s annual conference and trade show in August last year.

“I don’t think we’ve seen anywhere near the innovation we’re going to see. Obviously, the leaders in the marketplace — the four or five top companies — control almost 90% of the market nationwide, and that will change over time,” he said.

Currently, Ross said, those companies are DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and ESPN Bet.

Since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, all states surrounding Oklahoma — outside of Texas and Missouri — have legalized sports betting, with different setups and different percentages going to state and local governments.

Here is the breakdown of how much has been wagered, the tax rate and how much money has been collected by each state as of last week, according to legalsportsreport.com:

• Arkansas (legalized in 2018) — Slightly more than $1 billion; 9.7%; $15 million
• Colorado (legalized in 2019) — $19.5 billion; 7.0%; $81.6 million
• Kansas (legalized in 2022) — $4.55 billion; 9.1%; $21 million
• New Mexico (legalized in 2018) — No information available. Ross said that’s because Native American tribes there went “outside the box” and “just did their own thing,” without any reporting.

About half the states that have legalized sports betting allow tax deductions for promotional costs.

It’s a common way of enticing people to start — or continue — making bets. But in the short-term, it also can decrease the tax revenue available for governments and schools.

All eight states that border Missouri, except Oklahoma, have some form of legal sports betting.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.