On Thursday, Missouri’s professional sports teams came together to submit over 340,000 voter signatures in an effort to place a ballot proposal on the legalization of sports betting before the voters this November. The campaign, which was supported by Cardinals’ Fredbird, Royals’ Sluggerrr and Blues’ Louie mascots, brought boxes filled with signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office in Jefferson City.
Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft will now need to verify the voter signatures to finalize the proposal on the ballot. The initiative is seeking around 180,000 signatures to qualify. Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of sports betting, with 30 states and D.C. permitting online wagering. However, Missouri remains one of the twelve states where sports wagering remains illegal even after more than five years following the U.S. Supreme Court’s approval for states to implement it.
The coalition of teams supporting the initiative include St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Current and St. Louis City soccer teams. If approved by voters, state regulators would be mandated to launch sports betting no later than December 1st, 2025
