As the battle for regulated sports betting in Missouri enters its final days and hours, the mayors of the Show-Me State’s biggest cities are endorsing the bill. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Jones and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones both endorsed Amendment 2 this weekend in a joint statement.
If passed into law, Amendment 2 would legalize sports betting in Missouri that’s taxed at ten percent. Supporters of the bill say Missouri is missing out on valuable tax revenue, and losing casino customers to other states, by not offering regulated sports betting. Opponents of the bill aren’t necessarily against legal sports betting, they tend to point out that the ten percent tax on sports betting revenue has too many loopholes and may leave the state with little or no revenue.
Mayor Jones voiced her approval for the bill in comments reported on by Legal Sports Report saying, “Every time a Missourian has to drive across the river to Illinois to place a sports bet is a missed opportunity for our city, our state and our passionate sports fans. Missourians are betting on sports; we just aren’t getting any of the benefits. Amendment 2 will change this by allowing Missourians to place bets in a regulated, safe way that actually benefits our local economies and classrooms.”
Opponents of the bill, who are represented by St. Louis Democratic Central Committee, say that language in the bill allowing operators to deduct promotional costs, such as sign-up bonuses, could leave the state with no revenue at all. They’re also concerned that not enough money would go to fight problem gambling.
Big sports betting operators such as DrafKings and FanDuel have poured millions of dollars into the race, and the chances of Amendment 2 passing into law are very high.