On November 5 and in the days following, it appeared that Missouri voters had approved Amendment 2, which allows online and retail sports betting across the state.
However, as the vote count continues, we can conclude that the measure may not pass or that a recount may be required.
Results appear to be within the margin for a recount
Several media outlets and the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) reported the approval of Amendment 2 the week of the presidential election. But according to the Missouri Independent, one county’s results could reverse that situation. Even if they consider the amendment to be a winner, the margin between the votes is so small that they can request a recount.
Christian County is located in southwest Missouri and is considered a suburb of Springfield. And, according to a certified vote count dated November 12, 30,320 ballots rejected Amendment 2 and 19,955 indicated “yes.”
In other words, this is a difference of 10,365 votes on a constitutional amendment that, it is said, was won by the smallest of margins. This official vote count is the most current. The legislation forced all counties to certify their results by last Tuesday (19).
According to the November 19 count by the Missouri Secretary of State, the count was 1,468,306 in favor versus 1,463,940 against. This represents a difference of 4,366 votes.
In Christian County, a “late report” added 10,000 votes to the count. This could reduce the margin of victory to hundreds of votes. Under Missouri law, any candidate or ballot measure defeated by half of 1% of the total voters can request a recount.
Therefore, in either of these scenarios, Amendment 2 would win by less than half of 1% of the vote and the opposition could request a recount.
Uncertain scenario for Missouri sports betting Amendment 2
However, this seems unlikely to happen. The opposition in this case is Caesars Entertainment, which owns three casinos in Missouri. The company mounted a short-lived opposition campaign, but withdrew in mid-October.
To recap: Missouri’s professional sports teams, under the leadership of St. Louis Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt II, created Amendment 2 because they were tired of waiting for legislative legalization.
She failed in more than five attempts. After sports teams got the initiative on the ballot, operators DraftKings and FanDuel poured more than $40 million into the proponents’ campaign.
Caesars has campaigned in opposition, in part because the initiative appears to allow one digital skin per casino company, rather than one per location. Caesars and Penn Entertainment each operate three casinos in Missouri.
In late October, the Missouri Gaming Commission considered the move to grant a location license. Caesars dropped its opposition campaign two weeks earlier.
When all votes are counted, the difference will almost certainly be below 1%. But it does not appear that there is a “defeated” party to contest the count.
