The legalization of Missouri sports betting will probably have to wait until at least November. However, according to a new poll, many Missourians want that to happen much sooner.
Per FOX4 in Kansas City and Emerson College, 62 percent of respondents approve of legal, regulated sports betting in Missouri. The poll captured the opinions of more than 1,800 voters statewide.
More on the poll
The poll mentioned several topics that provoked strong opinions from potential voters. It also included questions about abortion and the upcoming race for a seat in the United States Senate.
Of the topics mentioned in the poll, Missouri sports betting was the one with the strongest overall support. Matt Harris, a political science professor from Park University, analyzed the results in a FOX4 report:
“When you look at sports betting, it seems like there’s pretty broad support. If you look at the Crosstabs there, Democrats support it, Independents support it, and Republicans are a little lower but still, a majority of them support it, so it seems like there’s pretty broad support for sports betting in Missouri.”
So why will Missouri sports betting probably fail again?
Numerous leaders have voiced support for the legalization of sports betting in Missouri. However, one familiar roadblock will be present for one more legislative session.
Sen. Denny Hoskins is a sports betting supporter. However, he believes that sports betting legislation should be coupled with the legalization of video lottery terminals (VLT’s). This is a stance many of Hoskins’s colleagues do not share.
Unlike those colleagues, though, Hoskins has the power to virtually stonewall any piece of Missouri sports betting legislation that comes to his chamber. He’s done this several years in a row, including 2023, when his efforts stymied a bill he himself had initially written.
Is there a path forward?
Any strategy to legalize sports betting in Missouri probably doesn’t involve the current legislative session. However, there’s reason for some optimism.
A coalition of sports team owners in the Show-Me State has banded together in hopes of getting a sports betting initiative on the 2024 ballot. That could happen if a petition reaches a certain signature threshold within the next few months.
In addition, Hoskins is term-limited and will exit his post in January of 2025. While his departure is no guarantee that MO sports betting will be legalized, it does remove an obstacle that’s stood in the way of bills reaching that level.
