Two gambling-related petitions in Missouri seem to have garnered sufficient signatures to be positioned on the poll in November. The petitions name for a vote on legalizing sports activities betting, and likewise permitting for a further on line casino within the state on the Lake of the Ozarks.
The next steps in the process will see state and native officers decide whether or not the signatures are legitimate and meet the state’s minimal quantity to proceed.
“The secretary of state’s office has three more weeks to process the petitions and ship them to county clerks to verify the signatures,” the Kansas City Beacon notes. “Those clerks need to return their reports to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office no later than July 30 to prepare for the November vote.”
Validation Process Begins
Most petitions should produce about 171,000 legitimate signatures for a difficulty to be placed on the poll. The sports activities betting proposal received 340,000 signatures and the Lake of the Ozarks on line casino plan acquired 320,000.
The sports activities betting petition started with the backing of a few of the area’s skilled sports activities groups after failed legislative efforts. Some of these supporters embody the St. Louis Cardinals, Blues, and Royals, and the Kansas City Chiefs. DraftKings and FanDuel have additionally helped push the petition.
“While the sports wagering bills that we have supported during the past couple of years have overwhelmingly passed in the Missouri House and have also had the support of a majority of the Missouri Senate, those bills have been repeatedly blocked in the Missouri Senate and not allowed to proceed to a vote in the Missouri Senate,” St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III stated.
The on line casino plan is backed by Lake Ozark metropolis officers. The metropolis board of aldermen have voted in favor of plans for a on line casino positioned on the Osage River, which flows into the massive physique of water. But state legislation presently solely permits for casinos on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. State legislation additionally solely permits the Missouri Gaming Commission to license 13 casinos. A brand new on line casino would violate each of these necessities.
The Osage River Gaming and Convention has introduced a partnership with Bally’s, which owns a on line casino in Kansas City, for the development of a potential on line casino on the river close to the lake.