Poll: Would Missouri voters support sports betting?

ST. LOUIS – After years of setbacks in the Missouri legislature, a sports betting initiative appears bound for state ballots this fall.

Would Missouri voters approve the foundation for sports betting? New poll results show it could be a close call.

A new Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll conducted in Missouri indicates that 38.3% of prospective voters would support a measure for sports betting, while 35.4% would turn it down. Another 26.3% of poll respondents are undecided about whether or not to support a sports balloting measure.

“There are some pluralities here who support sports betting.  If it were on the ballot, they would vote to pass it today.”

“I think that there’s some messaging work to do here if you’re on the side of passing sports betting in Missouri.  I don’t think folks necessarily know what all it entails, but a lot of them are, in principle, supportive of the idea,” states Emerson College Senior Polling Director, Matt Taglia.

Before a sports betting initiative becomes a possibility on November ballots, the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office must certify that a campaign effort met signature requirements through the state’s initiative petition process.

Winning For Missouri Education, a campaign representing Missouri’s six professional sports teams, says it collected and turned in more than 300,000 signatures ahead of a deadline to seek a November ballot initiative.

If certified and approved by voters, the initiative would allow each of Missouri’s 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to offer onsite and mobile sports betting. The Missouri Gaming Commission would regulate sports betting, and a designated home-dock city or county would receive 10% of the gaming tax for services provided.

Campaign leaders hope such changes will generate tens of millions of dollars for Missouri public education each year. Under the initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes would go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary, and higher education.

Efforts to legalize sports wagering in Missouri through legislation have been met with political pushback over the last several years.

In particular, Republican state Sen. Denny Hoskins has previously insisted that sports wagering should be paired with the regulation of slot-machine-style video games around various convenience stores and truck stops. Casinos have consistently opposed that stipulation. Some lawmakers are also concerned that sports betting could influence a pattern of compulsive gambling in the state.

Poll results did not indicate any trends of support or opposition based on political party affiliations. Missouri is one of 12 U.S. states that has not legalized some form of sports betting, in person or online, as of this year.

Emerson College Polling, The Hill, and Nexstar Missouri conducted this poll. Review our methodology and data here.