Online casino gambling will remain hundreds of miles away from Missouri — legal in Michigan and West Virginia — even if Missouri voters approve sports betting on Nov. 5. That’s because the measure allowed on the ballot by an Aug. 13 decision from Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was only about amending the state constitution to permit sports betting.
However, lawmakers may begin talking about iGaming soon if Missourians do approve land-based and mobile sportsbooks. Because iGaming legalization discussions and bills did follow sports betting launches in states like Massachusetts, New York, and Iowa.
Although, at the moment, only eight states offer iGaming:
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Michigan
- Nevada (online poker only)
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- West Virginia
Meanwhile, Ashcroft determined there were enough valid signatures on the referendum petition to place this question on the ballot:
A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to permit licensed sports wagering regulated by the Missouri Gaming Commission and restrict sports betting to individuals physically located in the state and over the age of 21. The amendment includes a 10% wagering tax on revenues received to be appropriated for educational institutions in Missouri.
A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution regarding licensed regulated sports wagering.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
Ballot language shows sportsbook license holders will pay $11.75 million in initial fees, with that revenue filling state coffers. Operators will then pay a 10% tax rate, estimated to generate $28.9 million in revenue annually.
If Missouri Legalizes Sportsbooks
If voters approve sports betting, they may be able to wager on the NFL team with a stadium in their state and multiple Super Bowl victories: the Kansas City Chiefs.
Until now, sports bettors among the 6 million Missourians have had to travel to Kansas to wager on their football team. (Or to any of its eight border states besides Oklahoma.)
However, the elephant in the room is that Missouri sportsbook launches likely won’t happen in time for the next Super Bowl, on Feb. 9, 2025.
If voters approve the ballot measure, the Missouri General Assembly will need to create wagering laws and the gaming regulator, the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC), will have to put them into place.
Right now, the legislature is adjourned for the rest of 2024, with the exception of a September meeting to deal with bill vetoes.
Missouri Gambling Vote May Activate Casinos
If voter-approved sports betting happens, Missouri online casinos may find advocates among the owners of the state’s 13 commercial casinos.
Of course, marketing needs to begin for the sports betting ballot measure first.
Russ Mitchell wrote for Gaming Today on Aug. 13:
Plans call for Missouri sports betting apps to be tethered to one of the state’s riverboat casinos or one of Missouri’s pro sports franchises. Mascots from the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis Blues helped deliver crates of petitions to the state capital in May.
May 8 was the deadline for petitions to reach Ashcroft.
Bonus and Gaming Today are Catena Media publications.
Which Operators May Want iGaming
The most likely casino owners who may come out in favor of adding Missouri sportsbooks are the owners of the following casinos:
- Harrah’s North Kansas City, Horseshoe St. Louis and Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Boonville — Caesars Entertainment (Caesars Entertainment 36,87 -0,59%)
- Argosy Casino Hotel and Spa, Hollywood Casino St. Louis, and River City Casino and Hotel — PENN Entertainment (Penn Entertainment 18,07 -4,09%)
- Bally’s Kansas City — Bally’s Corporation (Bally’s Corporation 17,16 -0,17%)
Caesars Sportsbook and ESPN Bet are Caesars and PENN sports betting brands, respectively. Bally’s owns Bally Bet. All three are established brands in sports betting states.
Also, each operator has an online casino app or several:
- Caesars Palace Online Casino
- Hollywood Casino
- Bally Casino
So, if the companies push for legal sports betting in Missouri, they will likely be in favor of iGaming later.
Boyd Gaming runs Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City and Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles. In the past, Boyd has partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook for sports betting. Recently, Boyd made an effort to relaunch its Stardust Casino brand in New Jersey, which Boyd may want to try in Missouri.
While they may not oppose sports betting, considering the land-based casinos could house physical sportsbooks, it’s less obvious whether Affinity Gaming and Century Casinos would support iGaming in the future.
A representative of Century did speak to Maryland lawmakers in February, when they were considering legalizing online casinos. He asked legislators to lower the proposed operator tax rate there, which isn’t opposition to legalizing online casinos and poker rooms.
Century (Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville casinos in Missouri) works in West Virginia with Caesars and Rush Street Interactive (Rush Street Interactive 9,08 -0,22%).
So, the company is less likely to assert a “cannibalization” claim that iGaming would pull revenue away from land-based casinos, as could happen with Affinity Gaming (Mark Twain Casino and St. Jo Frontier Casino).
However, BetMGM and DraftKings (DraftKings 35,11 -1,74%) are Big Three online casino brands that aren’t yet spoken for if casino owners stick with their usual partners. So Affinity may be happy with a choice like that.
About the Author
