DraftKings Parent Donates Additional $5M to Missouri Sports Betting Campaign

DK Crown Holdings Inc., the Boston-based parent company of DraftKings, contributed an additional $5 million to the Winning for Missouri Education pro-sports betting campaign on Tuesday.

DraftKings’ parent issued the largest check to a Missouri state political campaign in over 16 years

DK Crown Holdings’ donation is the largest check to a Missouri state political campaign in over 16 years. The latest offering brings the total raised for the pro-Amendment 2 effort to more than $16.5 million.

Donations date back to January from both DraftKings and FanDuel. The latest contribution also surpasses a $3.5 million check the DraftKings parent wrote to the campaign Aug. 15.

Since then, a group called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment formed to persuade voters to reject Amendment 2. The group also contends that education funding is misleading.

The new anti-gambling group has received more than $4 million in contributions from Caesars Entertainment casino companies. Caesars’ properties in Missouri include Horseshoe St. Louis, the former Lumière Place casino, in downtown St. Louis.

DraftKings’ parent’s $5 million contribution to the pro-Amendment 2 campaign is the largest single donation recorded by the Missouri Ethics Commission since 2008.

Amendment 2 would set the sports betting tax rate at 10%

Under the proposed amendment, the measure would set the sports betting tax rate at 10% and allow Missouri’s professional sports franchises along with the state’s 13 casinos to operate retail and online sports betting. Two online betting platforms would be eligible to receive a license.

The language allows sports betting companies to deduct promotional subsidies from taxable revenue. This would lead to higher profits for the gambling companies and lower state returns.

In the fiscal analysis, the projected revenue is listed at zero to an estimated $28.9 million per year.

An Emerson College poll conducted last week found 52% of 850 likely voters surveyed supported the sports wagering amendment, while 25% were against it and 23% were unsure.

If approved, Missouri would join neighboring states such as Kansas and Illinois in legalizing sports betting. A total of 38 states and Washington, D.C. offer some form of regulated sports wagering.