Missouri Becomes 39th State to Legalize Sports Gambling

Sports gambling is now legal in 39 states. 

Missouri voters narrowly approved the legalization of sports betting on Tuesday’s ballot, which was called Amendment 2, by a 50.1% to 49.9% yes to no margin, according to the Associated Press. The difference in Amendment 2 passing was roughly 7,000 votes yes to no. 

Missouri was the only state with sports gambling on its ballot this election cycle and joins most of the country in legalizing it since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the door for other states to join Nevada. Sports gambling has been legal in Kansas, Missouri’s neighbor to the west, since September 2022, putting pressure on the state to legalize it as well.

The campaign to bring sports gambling to the state, which was called Winning for Missouri Education, was backed by all of its professional sports teams. More than $40 million poured into the lobbying campaign to legalize sports betting, with almost all funds coming from FanDuel and DraftKings, the industry’s two biggest players. 

The St. Louis Cardinals led the coalition of the state’s pro sports teams to push for legalized gambling, collecting more than 340,000 signatures to get Amendment 2 on the ballot. The six teams, which include soccer’s Kansas City Current and St. Louis SC, will have a license to receive bets on games and other outcomes. The amendment will take effect Dec. 5, which is 30 days after Election Day. It requires sports betting to be legal in Missouri no later than Dec. 1, 2025. 

“Missouri has some of the best sports fans in the world and they showed up big for their favorite teams on Election Day,” Bill DeWitt III, the president of the Cardinals, said in a statement Wednesday. “On behalf of all six of Missouri’s professional sports franchises, we want to thank the Missouri voters who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2.”

State casino operators will be eligible for a license in addition to two online betting platforms. The state will levy a 10% tax on sports betting with the Missouri Gaming Commission getting the money first to pay for regulatory-related expenses. Additionally, $5 million will be allocated to a fund to be used to combat gambling addiction. Sports betting revenue continues to rapidly grow in the United States. Through August, commercial sports betting revenue reached nearly $8.4 billion, according to the American Gaming Association, 30% higher than the same period last year.