The battle over Amendment 2, a ballot initiative that will determine whether sports betting is to be legalized in Missouri, is shaping up to be one of the most expensive in state history.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that DraftKings had donated an additional $5 million to Winning for Missouri Education, the group backing the initiative, which voters will decide on in November. That tops a $3.5 million donation that DraftKings made to the campaign in August and brings the total pro-legalization tally — which includes millions of dollars in contributions from FanDuel — to more than $16.5 million.
According to the AP, the $5 million donation is the largest recorded by the Missouri Ethics Committee since such information became available online in 2008.
Caesars Stands Alone
DraftKings and FanDuel are part of a pro-legalization coalition known as Sports Betting Alliance, which also includes BetMGM, Fanatics and multiple professional sports franchises in Missouri.
Notably, the coalition does not include Caesars, which last week donated $4 million to Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, a group opposing Amendment 2. Unique among the sportsbook operators involved in the Missouri debate, Caesars operates a handful of brick-and-mortar casinos in the Show Me State, and it’s been reported that while the company is obviously generally supportive of the legalization of sports betting in the U.S., it is not on board with some of the key details included in Amendment 2.
Specifically, the measure that will be put to voters permits only one skin — or betting platform — per casino company, while previous unsuccessful legislative efforts would have allowed for three.
