Cash is King in Missouri Sports Betting Battleground

• Campaign donations keep pouring into Missouri as fight for legalized sports betting marches on
• FanDuel donated an additional $5 million to pro-sports betting campaign
• Caesars keeps up anti-sports betting donations with another $3.3 million

In the immortal words of the Wu-Tang Clan, “cash rules everything around me.”

Both sides for the fight for legalized Missouri sports betting have gotten an influx of cash this past week as the state inches ever closer to the Nov. 5 general election date.

Sports betting giants FanDuel and Caesars have both donated millions to either side of the sports betting coin, as Show-Me State voters will decide the fate of Constitutional Amendment 2 next month.

Campaigns Flush With Donations

Missouri has become a key battleground for legalized sports betting, as it’s likely the last potential state for legalization in 2024. If voters approve the constitutional amendment at the polls next month, each Missouri sports team and casino would be eligible to operate retail and online sports betting. Each team and land-based casino would be eligible for one retail sports betting license and one online sports betting license each. Each individual team and casino would be able to partner with up to one online sports betting operator.

In total, the state could see 19 retail sports betting licenses and 21 online sports betting licenses under this framework.

FanDuel reported a $5 million donation to the Winning for Missouri Education campaign on Monday, matching a $5 million donation DraftKings made to the campaign last week. The pro-sports betting campaign has seen the sports betting operators donate more than $31.5 million to its cause. It’s no surprise these two giants are working hard to legalize Missouri sports betting apps.

However, Caesars Entertainment is keeping pace and has been steadily providing a stream of money to the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment campaign. Through its land-based Tropicana Casino, Caesars donated an additional $3.3 million to the anti-sports betting group.

To date, Caesars has provided $14,161,456 to the campaign through the following donations:

• Caesars Enterprise Services: $161,456.85
• Tropicana St. Louis: $4,600,000
• Harrah’s North Kansas: $4,700,000
• Isle of Capri Boonville: $4,700,000

Under the proposed ballot initiative, each of the state’s land-based casinos would receive one online sports betting license apiece, while two untethered online sports betting licenses would also be available for sports betting companies to operate in Missouri. Caesars likely has a problem with this aspect of the proposed initiative, as neither FanDuel or DraftKings has a land-based casino in the state, but would likely be in line for the two untethered online sports betting licenses.

Campaigns Take to the Airwaves

The fight comes down to two campaigns; Winning for Missouri Education, which is backed by FanDuel, DraftKings, and Missouri professional sports teams to legalize sports betting in the state, and Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment campaign, backed by Caesars, which is against sports betting.

Winning for Missouri Education is stumping hard for sports betting as means to support teachers and education efforts in the state. The campaign believes that more than $100 million through tax revenue is a possibility over the first five years of legalized sports betting, which will be earmarked for school funding and teacher salaries.

The campaign is running the following television advertisement in the state.

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment claims the amendment will only benefit the out-of-state corporations that created the initiative.

“Amendment 2 is a bad deal for Missouri. This deceptive measure was written by and for the financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors and funders,” said Brooke Foster, a spokesperson for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, in a statement.

Foster notes that licensed sports betting operators will be able to deduct promotional credits and free play, which could led to them paying “zero gaming taxes for sports wagering.”

The campaign is currently running the following advertisement in the state as well.