It looks like just a matter of time before residents of Missouri get access to a selection of our best sports betting sites.
With the addition of almost 10,000 votes from Christian County, the vote on Amendment 2 was tightening. However, a local news source has revealed that the passage of Missouri sports betting now looks like it’s on the cards amid official returns posted by county election sites.
The Board of State Canvassers will certify the results by Dec. 10 at the latest.
However, the passage does not mean Missourians can immediately start gambling within state borders. Mike Leara, Executive Director of the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC), has reportedly received several calls daily asking, “Can I start making bets?”
“It takes some sort of rules and guidelines, because, first of all, the taxation that’s involved,” he commented. “We have to have a process for that, and then our (Code of State Regulations) process is a minimum of six months.”
The numbers
On Election Day, the “yes” vote for Amendment 2 was leading by 4,365 votes or 0.15%. Then, the official returns from Christian County reduced this margin to 371 votes. The Winning for Missouri Education coalition, which has been pushing for legalization, counted a final margin of 2,971 votes from all 116 election jurisdictions. Winning for Missouri Education spokesperson Jack Cardetti commented:
“Our coalition is so thankful that Missouri voters supported Amendment 2, so that we keep the revenues from sports betting in Missouri, which helps our local communities, our professional sports teams, and will provide millions in new education funding for Missouri classrooms each year.”
Missouri sports betting licenses
Leara said that the first step in the licensing timeline is to issue rules for applications, which the MGC plans to do in January. He said the first temporary licenses could be issued as soon as late June next year.
“Those are definitely optimistic timelines,” he said. “But so far, we’re on track, so when we issue that first temporary license, then they will be able to start accepting those bets from within Missouri.”
The amendment authorizes both online and in-person sports wagering, including licenses for in-person betting at the 13 existing casinos across the state. These casinos and each of the state’s major sports teams can also apply for an online license. The rules sparked confusion for gambling giant Caesars Entertainment, which owns three casinos in MO – Horseshoe Casino in St. Louis, Harrah’s in Kansas City, and Isle of Capri in Boonville.
“There was some ambiguity in the understanding of, would there be a license for each one of the casinos?” Leara said.
In fact, Caesars spent $15 million trying to convince Missouri voters to reject the amendment through its Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA) campaign before canceling over $1 million worth of TV ads just weeks ahead of election day. Leara suggested that the company may have misinterpreted the language of the amendment, believing it favored online gambling platforms unaffiliated with casino operators.
“When they figured out from our guidance that we intend to issue a skin for each casino, each sports team and the two untethered, they didn’t tell me they were backing down, but it looks like that’s what happened.”