A newly formed PAC has branded the Missouri sports betting measure on the November ballot as “deceptive”. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
While 38 states plus Washington, D.C. have legalized some form of sports betting, 12 are still fighting against the market.
Ahead of voters in Missouri heading to the polls November 5 to decide the fate of sports betting in their state, a group called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA) formed this week to convince them to vote no.
financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors”
The political action committee (PAC) wants to convince voters to reject a legislative measure on the ballot that would legalize sports betting in Missouri. MADOGA spokesperson Brooke Foster branded the measure “deceptive,” stating it was for the “financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors and funders.”
Foster added that the PAC is mobilizing a wide-ranging coalition and is ready “to wage a vigorous campaign to educate voters across the state and ensure the measure is defeated.”
According to media reports, MADOGA and other opponents of sports betting posit that the financial benefits of legalizing the vertical may not meet expectations.
Fuel for this fire was a Missouri auditor’s office fiscal review that highlighted sportsbooks could use promotional credits to cut their tax liability to zero. In addition, Governor Mike Parson’s administration flagged the initiative’s failure to identify a state agency “to collect sports betting taxes.”
MADOGA and the other naysayers are nevertheless up against a formidable wall, with a sports betting petition in April winning support from over 325,000 residents, and DraftKings last month injecting $3.5m into the pro-sports betting PAC, Winnings for Missouri Education. Making good use of its war chest, the PAC recently launched its first TV ad backing Amendment 2, stating the vertical will generate millions in funds for public schools and higher education.
