Missouri voters approve sports betting, reject new casino proposal

Missouri voters have narrowly approved Amendment 2, legalizing online sports betting across the state. With a slim margin of just over 14,000 votes out of 2.9 million cast, the measure will allow Missourians to place bets online and at licensed facilities, directing the Missouri Gaming Commission to make the new market available by Dec. 1, 2025.

The newly passed amendment enables each of Missouri's 13 casinos and seven professional sports teams to establish online betting platforms, while two additional licenses will be available for companies unaffiliated with casinos or teams. It potentially allows for 22 digital betting platforms in total.

As for retail betting, each of the major professional sports teams could create a physical location within a district near its stadium. Meanwhile, each of the state’s six casino companies could also open a retail sportsbook at their casinos as well as offer an online platform.

This measure marks a major shift for Missouri, which has struggled to pass sports betting legislation over the last five years, despite a national trend towards legalization following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision overturning a federal ban.

The victory for Amendment 2 came after a record-breaking campaign by the “Winning for Missouri Education” committee, funded by online gambling giants FanDuel and DraftKings, who contributed $41 million to support the measure. The opposition, led by Caesars Entertainment, initially ran a $14 million campaign against the amendment but scaled back significantly in the final three weeks, including pulling $1 million worth of scheduled television ads.

Early polling showed strong support for Amendment 2, with a lead of around 20 percentage points, but opposition efforts narrowed the gap considerably by Election Day. The passage of Amendment 2 positions Missouri to join over 35 other states that have legalized sports betting in some form, leaving only Oklahoma among Missouri’s border states without legal sports wagering.

The potential economic impact of Amendment 2 is significant, with a commissioned study projecting $21.8 billion in wagers over the first five years and a state revenue boost of $134 million, largely driven by online betting. Annual revenue is expected to reach $38.7 million by the fifth year, surpassing initial estimates by about $10 million.

Missouri’s professional sports franchises, including the St. Louis Cardinals, were instrumental in promoting the measure, arguing that legalization would modernize the state’s gambling landscape and open new revenue streams for the teams.

With the measure’s passage, the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) now faces the task of drafting regulatory rules and licensing the first betting platforms, a process anticipated to take six to twelve months.

In contrast, voters rejected Amendment 5, a proposal to allow a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks. This marks only the third time since 1980 that Missouri voters have turned down an initiative to expand gambling in the state.