MO Sports Betting Initiative Industry

DraftKings Invests Millions to Support Sports Betting Initiative in Missouri

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 28 August 2024

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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According to recent reports, the parent company of sports betting giant, DraftKings, has invested millions of dollars to support the sports betting initiative in Missouri.

It is claimed that DK Crown Holdings has given the campaign a huge financial boost with a donation of $3.5 million in a bid to sway voters and increase the chances of sports betting being legalized in the state.

The money has been contributed to the political action committee, Winning for Missouri Education, which is pushing for the ballot initiative. With this contribution from the sports betting giant, the committee has now broken the $10 million mark in terms of funds raised.

The cash was donated to the campaign after it was confirmed that the campaign had gained enough signatures to make it onto the November ballot. This announcement was made by the Missouri Secretary of State.

If the initiative is passed in November, Missouri will join the many other states across the country that have already legalized sports betting. Many of these states have enjoyed a huge boost in tax revenues as a result of sports betting activity, which has provided much-needed funds for services and projects, including education, in local communities and across the states.

A Step Toward Improving Education

The political action committee is keen to see sports betting legalized in the state because of the huge positive impact it could have on education services.

A spokesperson for the campaign, Jack Cardetti, said,

Now that we are officially on the ballot we’ll be over the next two and a half months talking to Missourians across the state about why it makes sense to set up a legal sports betting framework that helps public education.

The aim of the campaign is to educate voters across the state about the benefits of legalizing sports betting, what the framework would be like, and why they should support the initiative.

There has already been widespread support, according to data from Emerson College as well as a poll carried out by St. Louis University and YouGov. The data collected so far shows that more than 60 percent of voters in the state support the initiative.

Professional Sports Teams Backing Initiative

It was further revealed that in addition to strong statewide support from Missouri residents, the initiative has received backing from the state’s professional sports teams. Six major teams have endorsed the move, including the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and the Kansas City Current. 

Bill DeWitt III, the President of the Cardinals, recently made a public speech showing his support for the campaign. He thanked everyone who had supported a petition in support of the campaign and said that it was the right thing to do for the state’s public schools and its sports teams.

As part of the proposal that has been put forward, sports betting in the state would be taxed at 10 percent once legalized. While this is much lower than many other states that have legalized sports betting over recent years, it could still bring in an impressive amount of money from tax revenues for the state.