Missouri sports betting supporters hit back at lawsuit over signature dispute
Winning For Missouri Education reaffirms signatures required for the sports betting legislation ballot were acquired legally despite claims made in lawsuit filed last week
Winning For Missouri Education has pushed back against a lawsuit that has questioned the legitimacy of sports betting legislation being added to the ballot for the state’s November elections.
The lawsuit, filed last week by political consultants Jacqueline Wood and Blake Lawrence, against Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft, alleged the campaign to bring legislation to the ballot was done so illegitimately.
Winning For Missouri Education collected over 340,000 signatures, way over the minimum requirement of 180,000, in order for sports betting to be considered for the November ballot – the equivalent of 8% of legal voters in six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.
The campaign was also funded partially by operators, with DraftKings contributing more than $5.5m to date.
According to the lawsuit, Ashcroft’s team used figures from the 2020 gubernatorial election as a marker for how many signatures were needed in each district for sports legislation to be considered in the state.
However, as states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts to reflect new population counts every 10 years, Missouri’s map was updated after the 2020 election, resulting in the lawsuit making the claim that there should have been different numbers of voters in the first and fifth districts.
According to the complaint, only four of the eight districts garnered the requisite amount of signatures.
In response, Winning For Missouri Education has counter argued that the correct number of signatures were gathered under Missouri law, “regardless of of the method by which those signatures are counted or apportioned.”
The Cole Country Circuit Court has set September 5 for the next case hearing.
As it stands, Missouri votes on sports betting legislation will head to the ballot box on November 5.
If successful, the legislation will allow the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) to oversee the regulation of online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts, and mobile licenses in the Show-Me State.
Operators would pay a 10% wagering tax on revenue, with license fees to be determined by the MGC.
Wagering would be restricted to adults over 21 who are physically located in Missouri.
The state’s government estimates sports betting legislation could bring in license revenue of nearly $12m every year, in addition to annual tax revenue of up to $29m.