Sports Betting Initiative Stands in Missouri for Now

With a little more than 8 weeks until the November 5 general election, there were questions about whether or not Missourians would get a chance to vote on Amendment 2. Amendment 2 would effectively set the state for Missourians to be able to legally bet on sports, making the state the 39th state to do so.

For now, it's good news for initiative supporters. After a challenge by a group of plaintiffs, Missouri Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green decided in favor of  Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's decision to certify Amendment 2 for placement on the ballot.

The Winning for Missouri Education group stood solidly behind the initiative. After hearing the judge's ruling, spokesperson Jack Cardetti told the press:

“Today’s ruling, while expected, is nevertheless a big victory for Missourians, who overwhelmingly want to join the 38 other states that allow sports betting, so that we can provide tens of millions in permanent, dedicated funding each year to our public schools. For too many years, Missourians have watched as fans cross state lines to place sports bets, which deprives our Missouri public schools of much-needed funding. A vote for Amendment 2 in November will bring those dollars back to Missouri classrooms.”

Specific Claims Against the Amendment

To subvert Amendment 2, plaintiffs made four adverse claims regarding the initiation. The four claims include:

1. Eighty-three of the votes collected in Congressional District #1 should not have been counted. It mattered since the measure exceeded the signature requirement by 82 signatures.

2. The plaintiffs further claimed that 768 signatures should not be counted because of discrepancies with voter signatures, voter addresses, or ineligible voters. It's noteworthy that upon further scrutiny, 652 signatures were not counted that should have been counted

3. Plaintiffs questioned the way the Secretary of State verifies signatures and certifies ballot initiatives

4. Recently enacted redistricting efforts caused issues related to signatures being collected from the wrong Congressional Districts.

Clearly, Judge Green had none of this as he shot down every claim and ruled the initiative could go forward.

What's Next?

With time running out, there will likely be an appeal filed with the State Supreme Court by a group of mysterious claimants. That should be followed by a quick court decision to ensure the initiative is properly represented on printed ballots.

Leading the way for claimants could be attorney Marc Ellinger. Earlier this year, he represented the Missouri Gaming Association (MGA). The MGA coalition is made up of the state's 13 retail casino licensees.

It's an interesting twist given that the MGA has come out in support of legalized sports betting. Based on the initiative, they would be entitled to offer sports betting services as would the state's major sports franchises such as the St. Louis Cardinals (MLB), St Louis Blues (NHL), and the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs (NFL). It's also noteworthy that top U.S. sports betting operators like DraftKings and Fanduel were intimately involved in the initiative battle.