The Missouri Secretary of State’s office has confirmed that Missouri’s Pro Sports Coalition has filed four sports wagering ballot initiative petitions.
The Pro Sports Coalition is made up of professional sports teams in the state and has lobbied for the legalization of sports betting in Missouri. All four petitions request that a revision of the Missouri State Constitution is undertaken to make sports wagering legal by no later than December 31st, 2025.
Each petitions argues that legal sports wagering will provide significant tax revenues to the state and proposes a 10% tax rate imposed on all companies that receive sports betting licenses.
The petitions are listed on the Missouri Secretary of State’s office website as:
- 2024-135
- 2024-136
- 2024-137
- 2024-138
The petitions propose that retail sportsbooks be located in licensed casinos and sports stadiums and arenas that host professional sports teams with a capacity of at least 11,500. Online sportsbooks must be tethered to a retail license and would cost $500,000 while retail license fees would be set as $250,000. All licenses would be subject to renewal once every five years.
The Secretary of State’s Office is now accepting comments on the petitions with Missourians encourage to leave feedback on each petition. If enough signatures are gathered for each petition, they could be placed on the 2024 election ballot.
According to the latest US gambling trends and statistics report, sports betting is now legal and available in 35 states including all of Missouri’s bordering states with the exception of Oklahoma.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.