Lawsuit Challenges Missouri Sports Betting Initiative Over Signature Certification
A recent lawsuit has been filed in Missouri, aiming to prevent a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing sports betting from appearing on the November ballot. The lawsuit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court, questions the methodology used by the Secretary of State’s office to certify the number of valid signatures collected for the initiative.
Discrepancies in Signature Verification
According to the lawsuit, the state failed to account for updated congressional district lines following the 2020 U.S. Census, leading to errors in the certification process.
The lawsuit contends that if the correct district lines had been used, the petition would have fallen short of the required number of valid signatures in the 1st and 5th Congressional Districts.
Missouri law mandates that initiative petitions must gather signatures from 8% of legal voters in six of the state’s eight congressional districts to qualify for the ballot.
The plaintiffs argue that the Secretary of State should have based the signature count on updated district boundaries rather than outdated lines, potentially invalidating the certification.
Sports Betting Effort Backed by Major Stakeholders
The push to legalize sports betting in Missouri has been backed by major professional sports teams and casino companies, with financial support from online sports wagering platforms FanDuel and DraftKings.
These companies contributed over $6 million to the campaign, hoping to capitalize on the growing sports betting market in the state.
The measure, if approved by voters, would impose a 10% tax on net sports betting revenue, with an estimated annual revenue of $28.9 million earmarked for education programs in Missouri.
Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals and a vocal supporter of the initiative, has dismissed the lawsuit, calling it “without merit.”
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