Missouri Board of State Canvassers certifies sports betting election results
Final tally confirms Show-Me State narrowly voted in favor of Amendment 2 and will introduce legal online sports betting by December 2025
Missouri will officially become the next US state to legalize online sports betting after the state’s election results were ratified yesterday, December 5.
The Missouri Board of State Canvassers certified the results of the Show-Me State’s ballot, including Amendment 2, which will usher in a legal sports betting market in the state.
With nearly three million people voting on the amendment, the results showed 1,478,652 people voted in favor of sports betting while 1,475,691 voted against it.
The official results meant that Amendment 2 passed by just 2,961 votes. As the count was so close, with the winning margin less than 0.5%, there is scope for a recount.
But, as per the Missouri Independent, the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment said they “have no plans to request a recount at this time.”
The Show-Me State now has until December 2025, at the latest, to launch mobile and retail sportsbooks.
Missouri will have up to 22 sports betting licenses, with six reserved for the sports teams who play their home games in the state: the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Kansas City Royals (MLB), St Louis Cardinals (MLB), St Louis Blues (NHL), St Louis City SC (MLS), and Kansas City Current (NWSL).
Land-based casinos will be given one license per location.
As it stands, PENN Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Century Casinos, Affinity Interactive, and Bally’s all operate land-based casinos in Missouri.
In the build-up to the vote, St Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas endorsed the approval of Amendment 2, which proposed legislation that included a 10% tax rate.
The result was also applauded by operators FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which provided a combined $40m worth of funding for the Winning for Missouri Education campaign.