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Missouri May Launch Sports Betting By NFL Playoffs After Election Win

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Missouri May Launch Sports Betting By NFL Playoffs After Election Win


After several tumultuous years of bitter defeats, proponents of legal sports betting in Missouri finally emerged victorious on Election Night.

On Tuesday night, voters in the Show Me State approved Amendment 2, a ballot initiative that aimed to legalize sports betting across the state. The initiative, which received the backing of the state’s professional sports franchises, passed by a narrow margin of 0.3%.

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With approximately 2.9 million votes cast, the measure passed by less than 7,500 votes, according to unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office.

Missouri becomes the 39th state nationwide to legalize sports betting, joining neighboring Kansas which launched sports wagering in September 2022.

Wagers On A Chiefs Three-Peat

While estimates for annual state tax revenue vary somewhat, legal sports betting could bring the state as much as $28.9 million in yearly revenue, according to a fiscal note that accompanied the proposal.

“Missouri has some of the best sports fans in the world and they showed up big for their favorite teams on Election Day,” said St. Louis Cardinals president Bill DeWitt in a statement.

In Missouri, new amendments can become law 30 days following a general election. The amendment directs the Missouri Gaming Commission to make sports betting available by the start of next month. Based on the timeline, however, the 30-day clock expires on Dec. 5. Since the historic PASPA decision in 2018, a number of states have struggled to fast-track sports betting following legalization.

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If Missouri goes live on that date, bettors will have ample to time to wager on a Week 14 tilt between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers. The 8-0 Chiefs are slated to host their AFC West rivals in primetime on Sunday Night Football.

At the start of the regular season, BetMGM set odds of 13-1 for any team to go 17-0 in the regular season. At the midway point of the NFL season, the Chiefs are the only team in the league with an unblemished mark.

BetMGM could be one of nearly two dozen entities to be awarded a digital sports betting license.

Each of the state’s 13 casinos qualify for a license, as well as Missouri’s seven pro sports teams.

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Altogether, the state can award up to 22 licenses on the digital side. The state projects initial license fee revenue of $11.75 million, according to the fiscal note.

Market Players

FanDuel and DraftKings, the putative leaders of the U.S. sports betting market, are both expected to submit bids for a license. The two industry heavyweights each contributed $20.1 million to Winning for Missouri Education, a political action committee that supported the passage of Amendment 2. A study produced for Winning for Missouri Education estimates that $21.8 billion will be wagered on Missouri’s legal market over the state’s first five years.

The amendment allows the state to collect a 10% tax on sports wagering revenue. The revenues will be appropriated for education purposes, including public schools and higher education, according to the constitutional amendment.

“Thanks to the efforts of bipartisan leaders and local professional sports teams, we’re very pleased to see that voters in Missouri agreed with the merits of what legalized, regulated, and taxed sports betting can deliver for education in the state. We look forward to our product being available to sports fans in the Show Me State in 2025,” a FanDuel spokesman wrote in a statement.

Griffin Finan, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at DraftKings, echoed the sentiments.

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“We are thrilled that sports betting will create a vital new, permanent funding source for Missouri’s education system and ensure a brighter future for its students,” he wrote.

The proposal also enables operators to deduct a portion of sports betting taxes against revenues. The deduction is a boon for sportsbooks, as it allows operators to spend a larger portion of revenues on promotions. In high tax jurisdictions such as New York, operators find it more difficult to reinvest into their product.

In terms of bettor wagering habits, JMP Securities analyst Jordan Bender believes spend per adult will be in line with the U.S. average. As a result, Bender predicts that Missouri online gaming revenue will generate about $580 million annually at maturity.

Funding Issues

The tax rate has received some criticism from Missouri State Sen. Denny Hoskins, a Republican. A portion of tax revenue will be earmarked to a Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund, which includes research on problem gambling, additional treatment and recovery programs, and services related to compulsive gambling.

But the tax fees are comparatively low and not sufficient enough to combat a rise in problem gambling, Hoskins contends.

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Missouri Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe became the governor elect on Tuesday with a decisive victory over Democratic nominee Crystal Quade. In the run-up to the election, both candidates favored the adoption of sports betting to provide the state with additional revenue.

The amendment enables the state’s pro sports team to open retail sportsbooks in the vicinity of their venues. There are also implications in the Chiefs’ bid for a new stadium. Kansas law allows the state to apportion sports betting revenue as an incentive for teams to relocate. However, Chiefs President Mark Donovan downplayed the tie-in, stating in August that he didn’t view the initiative as a tipping point one way or the other.

BetMGM also offered odds of 35-1 this summer for a team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are in pursuit of their third straight Super Bowl, a feat that has never occurred in NFL history.



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Nonprofit drops $150K into PAC supporting lame-duck Missouri governor • Missouri Independent

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Nonprofit drops 0K into PAC supporting lame-duck Missouri governor • Missouri Independent


The not-for-profit group originally set up to pay for Gov. Mike Parson’s 2021 inauguration gave $150,000 this week to the political action committee that helped get him elected.

Parson is leaving office due to term limits and has said repeatedly that he does not intend to be a candidate for public office again. 

The PAC, Uniting Missouri, received the donation on Monday from Moving Missouri Forward Inc., which also paid the expenses to write and publish a biography of Parson called “No Turnin’ Back” that the governor has promoted extensively since its publication in February.

The origin of the $150,000 is unclear, since Moving Missouri Forward is not required to disclose its donors. But none of the money donated Monday was generated by sales of the Parson book, attorney Marc Ellinger said in an interview with The Independent. A different not-for-profit called Moving Missouri Forward Foundation receives all proceeds from book sales, he said, and is headed by First Lady Teresa Parson as president and Claudia Kehoe, wife Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe, as vice president.

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“It paid for the book and contributed the entire cost of it and everything to the foundation as a charitable contribution, so that the foundation would have an ability to raise money through the book,” Ellinger said.

Ellinger is the registered agent for both Moving Missouri Forward Inc. and Moving Missouri Forward Foundation.

Uniting Missouri PAC had about $93,000 on hand at the end of October. Reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission show it raised about $1.3 million since the start of 2023 and spent about $775,000 this year helping two officeholders Parson appointed, Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey, win hotly contested Republican primaries.

Uniting Missouri has also spent about $120,000 for Parson’s trips to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win the two most recent Super Bowls.

Tom Burcham — a former Republican state lawmaker from Farmington with close ties to Parson’s longtime friend and fundraiser, lobbyist Steve Tilley — is in charge of Uniting Missouri. It is unclear why the PAC needs to keep raising money to support a candidate who is no longer running for public office, and Burcham did not respond to a request for comment. 

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Burcham is also the registered agent for a not-for-profit created in September called 57 Foundation Inc., in reference to Parson’s position as the 57th governor of the state. The nonprofit held a fundraiser Nov. 14 in Kansas City where donors paid as much as $10,000 for a table and pre-event reception with the Parsons.

The purpose of 57 Foundation, according to its incorporation papers, includes “providing essential resources and support to needful and vulnerable Missourians who cannot adequately help themselves. The foundation’s activities are inspired by and aligned with the legacy of public service and contributions of Missouri’s 57th Governor, Michael L. Parson.”

The Moving Missouri Forward Inc. donation to Uniting Missouri is roughly equal to the remaining funds raised on behalf of Parson, Ellinger said.

It will now transition to become a vehicle for funding Kehoe’s inauguration, he said. 

Soon after Parson’s 2021 inauguration, Moving Missouri Forward Inc. released a list of donors who contributed $500 or more to the $369,115 raised for the festivities. The list did not include the specific amounts donated.

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As a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) entity, it is not required to reveal its donors. It is required to file a statement of revenues and expenses annually with the IRS. The most recent report, filed in November 2023 and covering 2022, shows $3,000 in contributions in 2022 and $40,563 in cash on hand at the end of the year. 

The filing also showed a $25,000 contribution to the Moving Missouri Forward Foundation. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) entity and contributions are tax deductible.

The purpose of the Moving Missouri Forward Foundation, according to its creation filing, is to “aid, assist, or help Missouri’s children, including but not limited to Jobs for America’s Graduates-Missouri and children with autism and special needs.”

Mike and Teresa Parson have been co-chairs of Jobs for America’s Graduates-Missouri since 2016, when he was elected lieutenant governor.

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Mississippi State football injury report vs Missouri: Who’s in, who’s out in Week 13

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Mississippi State football injury report vs Missouri: Who’s in, who’s out in Week 13


STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is coming off its open week with no new injuries.

The Bulldogs’ injury report for Week 13 did not show any additions from their most recent SEC injury report, in Week 11 against Tennessee. MSU (2-8, 0-6 SEC) hosts Missouri (7-3, 3-3) at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network) in the final home game of the season.

The Tigers listed starting quarterback Brady Cook as probable after he returned from an injury last week.

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The SEC newly mandated this season that each team provides injury reports for conference games. The first reports are revealed on Wednesdays and updated daily until the final report 90 minutes before kickoff. The full report is below.

Mississippi State football injury report vs Missouri

This will be updated daily as the injury reports change.

Mississippi State

  • QB Blake Shapen: Out
  • CB Traveon Wright: Out
  • WR Creed Whittemore: Out
  • WR Trent Hudson: Out
  • RB Keyvone Lee: Out
  • DL Kalvin Dinkins: Out
  • DL Kedrick Bingley-Jones: Out
  • OL Canon Boone: Out

Missouri

  • WR Mookie Cooper: Out
  • DE Darris Smith: Out
  • QB Sam Horn: Out
  • LB Khalil Jacobs: Out
  • DE Joe Moore: Out
  • OL Connor Tollison: Out
  • S Tre’Vez Johnson: Probable
  • QB Brady Cook: Probable

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.



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Oklahoma Still ‘Believes’ in QB Jackson Arnold After Tough Missouri Outing

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Oklahoma Still ‘Believes’ in QB Jackson Arnold After Tough Missouri Outing


NORMAN — The bye week was Oklahoma’s final chance to reset before ending the year with the gauntlet of Alabama and LSU in consecutive weeks. 

To have a chance to pull off an upset either in Norman on Saturday night or in Baton Rouge after Thanksgiving, the Sooners will need much better play from their quarterback. 

Jackson Arnold fumbled three times in OU’s loss to Missouri, losing two of them including the game-ending scoop-and-score, which was just the latest hiccup in the quarterback’s year-long turnover issues. 

And while the offense has plenty of problems across the board, from the lack of explosive plays to protection issues by the offensive line, Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5 SEC) coach Brent Venables said the process to keep Arnold confident after another batch of back-breaking turnovers is still ongoing on the practice field. 

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“I think it’s gonna be the same type of experience it’s gonna be for the rest of his career and he’s no different than any other player other than he’s the face,” Venables said on Tuesday. “That goes along with that position at a place like the University of Oklahoma. That’s a position that’s a little bit … it’s a bit like the head coach position. There’s a different type of microscope and there’s a different type of focus and that’s okay he’s got broad shoulders to handle that. 

“… Improving and developing, making mistakes, learning from the good and the bad… that’s just a daily task. He’s got a huge part in that experience and the development and the improving and taking ownership. You can’t deflect it. You have to have great awareness, you have to have great self-awareness and you’ve got to have great humility and then you have to have respect for what I need to do, his part, in order to improve. And that’s not just him, that’s everybody around him.”

Reviewing the loss, Arnold took full accountability for his mistakes and got to work throughout the bye week to ensure it won’t happen again. 

“Obviously it was a heartbreaker, you never want a game to end like that,” he said on Monday. “For me in the quarterbacks room, I’ve got to look back at the film and watch it. I can’t fumble like that, can’t turn the ball over but at the same time, we’ve got two more games. We’ve got two more great teams we’ve got to play so we’ve got to put it behind us and move forward.”

Arnold also said him and the entire team were happy to be able to get an extra week to prepare for the No. 7-ranked Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2), as Kalen DeBoer’s team continues to get better and better throughout the season. 

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But Arnold also got another boost on Monday. 

He was named a captain by Venables and the coaching staff for the home finale, something that the OU coach said has been earned throughout Arnold’s attitude in practice all throughout the season.

“We love Jackson, and we believe in him,” Venables said. “But it’s a sign of he’s one of our best leaders that we have on the team. And there’s plenty of guys going through, rough spots that still have the ability to lead and fight and compete. So that goes along with that position as well. But representing the offensive side of the ball, those are two of our best leaders, Troy Everett and Jackson Arnold.”

That faith in the coaching staff wasn’t lost on Arnold. 

“Yeah, no, it’s awesome,” he said. “Just knowing that the team and the coaches have my back and support me, it’s a good feeling for sure and I’m super appreciative of those guys.”

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The Sooners are fully focused on knocking off Alabama and extending the program’s 25-year bowl streak, but there will be plenty of decisions that need to be made in the coming weeks. 

Arnold committed to play for then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, but he stayed to take over as OU’s central piece on offense. 

The season hasn’t gone to plan, as evidenced by Seth Littrell’s dismissal, and without an offensive coordinator in place for the 2025 season, Arnold declined to shed light on what the next step is for him either way. 

“I stay in my lane, I stay focused,” Arnold said about blocking out the outside noise surrounding a potential transfer. “I have Snapchat, so I talk to my friends, talk to my family, call them and talk to my girlfriend, but other than that I don’t go on any social media. 

“And regarding my future, like I just — I mean, we’ve got two great teams left that we gotta go against, I’m just taking it week by week.”

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So regardless of what the next month brings for Arnold and Oklahoma, the Sooners are focused in getting the best out of their young quarterback over the next eight quarters. 

“It’s not him alone. It’s Coach (Kevin) Johns, it’s Coach (Joe Jon) Finley, it’s Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh and Coach (DeMarco) Murray,” Venables said. “Making sure that their guys are prepared and detailed so that it helps him have success and stay into a rhythm — have a clean pocket and make good decisions. Everybody has a role in that and confidence as a young player is always something. 

“The confidence usually comes from the work. And then, I’m not gonna lie, the confidence takes a shot when you’re not successful. And so we gotta do, all of us together, gotta do a good job of hitting it head on.”



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