JEFFERSON CITY — A group has emerged to convince Missouri voters to reject a plan to bring sports betting to the state.
Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment Tuesday launched a campaign to oppose Amendment 2 — the proposed constitutional amendment that would approve a structure for wagering on sports.
Campaign spokeswoman Brooke Foster said the initiative — funded largely by sports betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel — is a “bad deal for Missouri.â€
“This deceptive measure was written by and for the financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors and funders,†Foster said.
After years of failed attempts in the Legislature to approve a sports betting program, the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and other professional sports teams formed the Winning for Missouri Education political action committee to bankroll the ballot initiative.
People are also reading…
The campaign, relying largely on FanDuel and DraftKings, has raised more than $6.5 million and recently won a spot on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The drive to legalize sports betting comes as 38 other states have allowed the practice following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to the expansion. Previously, wagering on athletic events was limited to Nevada.
The measure would set the sports betting tax rate at 10% and allow Missouri’s professional sports franchises as well as the state’s 13 casinos to operate retail and online sports betting.
Although the proceeds from sports betting taxes would help fund education, Foster said a fiscal analysis prepared by the Missouri auditor’s office found that gambling operators could deduct certain promotional credits to the point where they could pay no taxes.
In addition, a fiscal review conducted by Gov. Mike Parson’s administration suggested that the initiative petition fails to include a mechanism for allowing state agencies to collect or deposit taxes and fees generated by a legalized sports betting program.
“Without the identification of an agency to collect the tax, no tax can be collected. Due to wording in this IP (initiative petition), the Department of Revenue assumes this IP will not generate any revenue to the state,†the analysis says.
“We are building a broad coalition and are prepared to wage a vigorous campaign to educate voters across the state and ensure the measure is defeated,†Foster added.
A St. Louis University/YouGov poll of 900 likely voters in August found that 50% of respondents support efforts to legalize sports betting, compared with just 30% in opposition.