Missouri Sports Betting Opponents Canceled More Than $1M in TV Ads

The Missouri campaign opposing a sports betting constitutional amendment on the November ballot canceled more than $1 million in television ads Thursday. This news came just as the group supporting the proposal launched new ads featuring former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment had nearly $4 million worth of TV ads opposing Amendment 2

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment aired or reserved almost $4 million worth of television ads opposing Amendment 2. The campaign’s cancellation on Thursday removed an estimated value of $1.2 million worth of those ads.

The ads are being pulled so the campaign can shift to more direct contacts, according to Brooke Foster, a spokeswoman for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.

“While the out-of-state online gambling corporations continue to throw millions of dollars at misleading TV ads, we have decided to focus our efforts on grassroots outreach and community conversations during the two and a weeks that remain before Election Day,” Foster said in an email to the Missouri Independent.

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment has received $14.2 million from Caesars Entertainment-owned casinos in Missouri. Caesars is the only one of the six casino operators licensed in Missouri that is actively opposing the ballot measure.

Winning for Missouri Education, the committee backing Amendment 2, is the most-funded ballot measure campaign in state history. The two largest sports betting giants, FanDuel and DraftKings, have each contributed $15.8 million. The television and radio ad campaigns have cost nearly $10 million so far.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education, declined to say why he believed the ads were pulled. “That’s something you’d have to ask them about,” Cardetti said. “We’re focused on the campaign and making sure our message is getting out. We feel really good about where we are right now.”

Amendment 2 would set the sports betting tax rate at 10% in Missouri, allow online sports wagering

In an August St. Louis University/YouGov poll, 50% of voters surveyed said they supported sports wagering. Only 30% opposed the Amendment 2 ballot language.

However, the television ads opposing Amendment 2 had narrowed that lead. The commercials began running in the first week of September to help sway voters.

“It’s definitely tightened,” she said. “It’s margin of error type close, so we’re really pleased to see that.”

Winning for Missouri Education this week has increased the size of some of its television purchases and has begun emphasizing support for the measure from professional sports teams.

If approved by voters, Amendment 2 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 Amendment 2 campaign will continue to aggressively get our message out,” Cardetti said, “and ensure that Missourians know the benefits of legalizing sports betting, right up until the last hour.”

Amendment 2 would align Missouri with 38 other states and Washington D.C., which offer some form of legalized sports wagering. Voters will also decide whether to overturn the state’s ban on abortion and raise minimum wage.