JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – Some ads populating on social media and television are raising eyebrows in Missouri.

A DraftKings campaign advertising a deal that’s “now live in Missouri” could seem confusing upon first look. Although voters passed Amendment Two legalizing sports betting, the Missouri Gaming Commission has not yet awarded any licenses. However, Draftkings is not doing anything wrong.

Although it appears to be a sports betting commercial, DraftKings is advertising a fantasy game, and betting on fantasy sports is legal and regulated in Missouri. The Missouri Gaming Commission regulates fantasy sports, but it’s still going to be several months until the infrastructure is set up for sports betting.

“We’ve got that small intense group of people led by our executive director to make sure that we’re not missing anything,” said Missouri Gaming Commissioner Jan Zimmerman.

Betting on fantasy sports is not new. Companies like DraftKings can use this as an avenue to make money in states where sports betting is not legal, or in Missouri’s case, not yet operational.

When looking at the map of where the DraftKings pick-six deal is available, and comparing it to the map from the American Gaming Association of states where sports betting is legal, you’ll notice eight states where you can get this DraftKings deal but sports betting is not legal; that’s without including Missouri.

Betting money on fantasy sports is legal because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which designates fantasy sports as a game of skill *not a game of chance, like sports betting. Because of this, betting on fantasy sports is not considered gambling.

The Missouri Gaming Commission said it hopes to have sports betting operational later this year. In the meantime, avid sports fans and gamblers will have to stick to fantasy sports.

“We are still very hopeful that we’ll be ready to go by mid to late summer,” Zimmerman said.

The Missouri Gaming Commission’s regular meeting is scheduled for tomorrow to continue its work toward getting sports betting set up.

In Missouri, there were more than 11 million attempts to place a sports bet just during the first half of the 2024 football season, according to data from GeoComply.

There will be a 10% tax on that gambling revenue. The auditor’s office is estimating up to $29 million in tax revenue coming from sports betting.

That revenue is allocated first to cover any of the “reasonable expenses” incurred by the Gaming Commission that were not covered by revenue from fees.

After those expenses are covered, 10% of the remaining wagering tax revenue or $5 million, whichever is greater, would be allocated to the state’s Compulsive Gaming Prevention Fund. Finally, whatever revenue is remaining is legally required to be spent on “institutions of elementary, secondary, and higher education” in Missouri.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – New concerns that a defendant in a child murder case got too good of a plea deal.

David Spears pleaded guilty to his role in the 2007 murder of his step-daughter 9-year-old Rowan Ford. But for the past few years, Spears has been working for the state of Missouri, your tax dollars paying his salary.

“It just goes beyond outrage. There really isn’t a word that describes how I felt when I found out that he was actually employed at the public’s expense,” said Joplin area State Representative Lane Roberts.

He says he was mortified to learn that Spears is working in the public defenders’ office in West Plains.

In 2007 Rowan Ford was strangled, raped, and her body dumped in a sinkhole in McDonald County. Her killer, Christopher Collings, was executed last month. But Spears pleaded guilty to lesser charges and spent several years in prison.

“To lose a child is in itself just gut-wrenching. But when you look at how he conducted himself, the crying and the carrying on about what a tortured soul he was. This was her stepfather. This was a man who was supposed to have protected her. Instead, he sought to help the individual who took her life avoid prosecution,” explained Roberts.

He and 15 other state representatives sent a letter to the Public Defenders Commission calling on them to fire Spears arguing his defense, incarceration, wages, and possibly retirement is paid for with tax dollars. It also says that keeping him on the payroll since 2016 after he was paroled is “vicious, outrageous, and defies reason”.

Roberts said, “They have, as I understand it, been reviewing their hiring practices. My hope is that they will amend those practices so something of this nature never occurs again.”

He wants the community to know that the fight for justice for Rowan continues.

“For those of us who have been elected to represent the public, in whatever capacity, there’s an obligation to call it out when you see it. So if nothing else comes of this hopefully people will get a level of confidence that somebody is paying attention. Those who make decisions on their behalf and spend their money are accountable for what they do.”

KY3 called the Howell County public defender for comment but was told he was out of the office.

The Public Defender Commission meets this Wednesday to discuss their employee background check policy.

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