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It appeared sports betting in Missouri was legalized in early November. That’s when Amendment 2 was on the ballot — a bill that would make the state the 39th in the country with a legal sports betting market.
When the counting stopped on November 5, the amendment narrowly passed by a little over 4,000 votes (out of almost 3 million cast) — a difference of 0.15 percent. However, when new votes were magically “found” — no conspiracy theory, just a puzzling revelation — the amendment’s passing was questioned. Allow us to explain what’s going on in the Show Me State.
Unreported Votes Throw A Wrench In Missouri
Things got interesting in mid-November when Christian County reported 9,800 new votes. According to county officials, these were absentee, mail-in, and provisional ballots. Why so late, you ask? The same officials said the votes were in their possession on election night, however, there weren’t enough machines to finalize the count the same day (or risk the data being erased). This caused the delayed ballots we’re now seeing.
“We just did not have another machine to feed those provisional and those military in, so we had to keep those machines open to be able to feed them to be counted,” said clerk Paula Brumfield.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a major issue as most races aren’t that close anyway. Well, Amendment 2 was an exception due to the razor-close voting margins.
More troubling is Christian County is very conservative. Those unreported votes were overwhelmingly against the passage of Amendment 2. Initial reports said once the country was accounted for, Amendment 2 actually passed by a meager 371 votes. That’s a small enough number that could possibly warrant a complete recount.
However, that doesn’t appear to be happening if local media reports are to be believed. Take The Independent — the state’s nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. They did a tally on their own, using ballots from 23 of the state’s 25 biggest counties in terms of population. The Independent found Amendment 2 passed by 2,877 votes.
Moreover, the Winning for Missouri Education — the campaign committee that funded the legalization efforts — had a winning tally of 2,971 votes across all 116 election jurisdictions. Obviously, they’re biased so we wouldn’t take their word as gospel. However; the Independent has “no dog in this fight” and can be viewed more credibly. If so, their numbers preserve Amendment 2’s passing.
Results Go Final In Mid December
December 10 is the final day that results must be certified by the State Board of Canvassers. So if there’s going to be a recount, it needs to happen from now and that date. The margin is certainly with the means for a recount, but nothing has been put into motion as of this writing.
But here’s the thing, if a recount is going to come, it’ll be via someone representing the campaign. Those are the words of JoDonn Chaney, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. “Only certain groups, not anybody, can request it,” Chaney said.
The aforementioned Winning for Missouri Education group isn’t going to challenge it as the results are in their best interest already. The group had financial backing from DraftKings and FanDuel to the tune of $40 million. Moreover, local pro sports teams in the area were a part of the group though not financially.
If anyone’s going to request a recount, it’ll almost surely be people who represent Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment. They campaigned against Amendment 2 and spent $15 million to defeat the vote. Money was mostly spent on ads, but the group did yank adverts three weeks before the vote so they might not have any fight left in them.
Caesars, which owns multiple brick-and-mortar casinos in the state, financially backed the opposing side. Even though they’d stand to gain from a fully legal sports betting market, they wanted licenses for themselves — and not compete with outsiders like DraftKings and FanDuel, who are mopping the floor with them in other state markets.
For what it’s worth, Missouri hasn’t had a recount in 10 years. The last statewide recount was in 2014 when Amendment 1 (aka the Right to Farm amendment) barely passed by 2,490 votes. Ultimately, the recount didn’t change the results, which is commonplace. This sets up well for the pro-betting side in Missouri in this case.
When Will Betting Launch In Missouri
Let’s assume Amendment 2 stays approved — whether there is a recount or not. What’s next and when does betting go live in the Show Me State?
Well, it’s going to take months, not days. Even though state laws say new amendments become effective 30 days after passing, that won’t mean the state will have betting up and running by December — while NFL betting is in peak form.
“It takes some sort of rules and guidelines, because, first of all, the taxation that’s involved,” said Mike Leara, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission. “We have to have a process for that, and then our (Code of State Regulations) process is a minimum of six months.”
You heard the man, it’s going to take a minimum of six months — and that’s the best-case scenario. So for now, Missouri bettors will need to lean on offshore betting sites to bet. It’s their only option if they’re staying within borders until this legalized infrastructure is set up.
Best Betting Sites 