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Missouri Sports Betting Campaigns Receive New Donations From FanDuel and Caesars

Ziv Chen

Last Updated: October 10, 2024 11:02 AM EDT • 1 min 64 sec read.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes runs the ball and dives for a first down as we look at a Missouri sports betting campaign update.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes runs the ball and dives for a first down. Photo by: Denny Medley/Imagn Images.

Residents of Missouri have an opportunity to cast their vote for or against a legal sports betting platform in November's election. If the vote passes, bettors will be able to take advantage of some of our best sports betting sites when they open up shop in the state.

With election day less than four weeks away, the campaigns for and against a legal Missouri sports betting platform are gaining momentum. This week, gambling giants FanDuel and Caesars made significant contributions to opposing sides of the debate.

A Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) revealed that FanDuel, under the name Betfair Interactive, has made a further $5 million contribution to Winning for Missouri Education, the campaign in support of legalization. This latest donation brings its total contributions to $15.775 million, matching exactly what DraftKings has given since the two companies made their first donations in January 2024. Together, the two have spent $31.55 million on the push for Missouri sports betting.

The same day, the Commission a $3.3 million donation from Caesars Entertainment to the opposing campaign. Since its formation in September, the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (MADOGA) campaign has received all of its funding from Caesars. The company has donated over $14 million under the names of its three land-based casinos.

Donations surpass $45 million

DraftKings and FanDuel have been funding the Winning for Missouri Education campaign since it was created in January. The companies started off with donations of around $250,000 to $500,000 each, but these have continued to grow in size. Over the past few weeks, both companies have donated $10 million each, initiated by DraftKings' record $5 million contribution reported earlier in September.

Caesars made its first donation to MADOGA just days after the group launched its campaign against Amendment 2. The company made its most recent donation under the name Tropicana St. Louis, one of its land-based casino venues, which is now known as Horseshoe St. Louis. Its other two Missouri casinos include Harrah’s North Kansas City and Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Boonville.

What is at stake?

Using the funding, Winning for Missouri Education continues to promote the benefits of sports betting taxes for public schools. In its “Teacher Pay” ad, the group argues that legalizing sports betting would generate tens of millions of dollars for schools, which would go towards increased teacher pay.

However, MADOGA has questioned these claims with its “False Claims” ad, which argues that there is no guarantee that sports betting tax will be allocated to education as promised. 

Missourians will vote on Amendment 2 on Nov. 5, 2024, general election day. If approved, the state’s sports teams and land-based casinos would each be eligible for one online sports betting license and one retail sports betting license. Two additional licenses are available, allowing operators without a land-based venue to apply. These could likely go to DraftKings and FanDuel following their large donations in support of Missouri sports betting, which could explain Caesars' opposition to Amendment 2.

Several Missouri sports teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC, Kansas City Current, and Kansas City Royals, are also backing the Winning for Missouri Education campaign.

Written By:
Ziv Chen
Ziv has over two decades of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having served in senior marketing and business development positions with both B2C and B2B companies, including Playtech and Microgaming. In 2019, Ziv decided to pursue his passion for writing and became a fulltime industry journalist, covering casino, sports, and gambling business news. He’s specialties include casino games and technology, US state gambling regulation, company performance, as well as gambling affiliates and marketing. As a Pitt graduate, Ziv is a diehard fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers at the top of the list. In his free time, he enjoys reading crime fiction, biographies (mainly of sports personalities, but not only) and American history. Ziv’s Favorite quote: “We're going to pursue perfection, knowing full well we won't catch it, but we're going to relentlessly chase it," Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach.