Not often do we see a gaming company oppose a pro-gambling referendum but Caesars has done precisely that after donating more than $4 million to the political action committee, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.
Battle Lines Drawn
There is an important question on Missouri’s ballot and it has taken years to get there. Voters will decide whether mobile sports betting should be allowed in Missouri. The major industry players like FanDuel and DraftKings have spent a combined $10 million donating to the political action committee, Winning for Missouri Education, formed by the state’s six professional sports franchises including the Cardinals, Royals, Chiefs, Blues, Current, and City FC.
However, an opposing faction has recently formed and it is called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA). This PAC’s goal is to convince Missourians that the pro-sports betting PAC is not in their best interests and that voters should say no at the ballot box when asked if they want sports betting in the state. A simple majority is needed to pass the measure but this new group has vowed to derail the efforts of big business to get it approved.
“This deceptive measure was written by and for the financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors and funders,” Brooke Foster, a spokesperson for MADOGA, said. “We are building a broad coalition and are prepared to wage a vigorous campaign to educate voters across the state and ensure the measure is defeated.”
Unlikely Supporter
But an unlikely ally, on the surface at least, has donated more than $4 million through its land-based casinos in Missouri to MADOGA. Caesars brick-and-mortar casinos including the Tropicana St Louis ($1.3 million), Isle of Capri Boonville Casino ($1.3 million), and its Harrah’s North Kansas City property ($1.4 million) all donated to the anti-sports-betting-campaign. Caesars’ Enterprise Services business also contributed $156,202.
It is unclear why Caesars, a company that operates a mobile sports betting brand throughout the United States, would be anything but welcoming to another digital gaming market. However, speculation has surfaced that they may be disgruntled because two of the sportsbooks would be allowed to be untethered to a sports franchise or casino. Moreover, the casinos are only getting one skin when prior legislation included multiple skins for each casino operator.
In It to Win It
Winning for Missouri Education has not only been on Missouri’s radar longer than its nemesis, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment but also has the benefit of several deep-pocketed supporters. As stated, the former is backed by all six pro franchises in the Show Me State while getting big donations from sports betting industry leaders, FanDuel and DraftKings.
The pro-sports betting PAC was responsible for collecting 340,000 signatures in support of sports betting, more than double the required number by the Secretary of State’s office to get the referendum on November’s ballot.
“Now that we are officially on the ballot, we’ll be over the next two and a half months talking to Missourians across the state about why it makes sense to set up a legal sports betting framework that helps public education,” said campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti after the signatures were verified.
The group’s website recently launched and there will undoubtedly be a blizzard of advertising aimed at convincing the electorate that a vote for sports betting is a vote for education, as 10% of the sportsbooks’ revenues would be collected in taxes and all that money would be earmarked for the state’s educational system.
