It’s been a quiet year for sports betting legalization, except for Missouri sports betting. Earlier this year, a petition gathered enough signatures to ensure a ballot question this coming Election Day.
That vote is more than four months away, and polls are beginning to gauge the mood in the Show-Me State. While previous polls have shown bipartisan support for the launch of Missouri sports betting, a recent one suggests it may not be a slam dunk.
Poll shows a Missouri sports betting split
The poll, conducted by Emerson College and The Hill, showed that 38.3% of respondents favored Missouri sports betting. It added 35.4% would vote against it, and that 26.3% of respondents were undecided.
This result is somewhat unexpected. Prior polls had shown a much more solid approval rating for the industry, which has been debated for years in the state’s legislative sessions. A February poll, for instance, showed 62% of respondents across the political spectrum favored Missouri sports betting.
Emerson College and The Hill surveyed 1,000 registered voters earlier this month. Emerson also sponsored the February poll. This month’s poll was a wide-ranging one and also included questions about national and statewide elections coming up this November.
All eyes on Missouri this November
Multiple states were expected to seriously consider legal sports betting legislation this year. However, multiple Minnesota sports betting and Georgia sports betting bills stalled in legislative sessions.
Missouri sports betting, meanwhile, has been stonewalled in the state Senate for several years in a row. Sen. Denny Hoskins has used his power to block sports betting bills that do not include video lottery terminals, or VLTs. Despite most of his colleagues believing these to be separate issues, Missouri sports betting bills have not passed out of that chamber.
Frustration has mounted in Missouri, though. Owners of the state’s professional sports teams banded together to form a coalition called Winning for Missouri Education. That coalition was behind the early-2024 petition effort, which proved successful.
If the ballot initiative is passed in November, the new industry could launch as early as mid-2025. If it’s rejected by voters, though, hope is not lost. Hoskins is term-limited and will not be in office during the upcoming 2025 legislative session.
