What you should know about Amendment 2

By approving or rejecting Amendment 2, voters will decide whether to legalize sports betting in Missouri.

The ballot initiative, one of six nationwide measures up for a vote on November 5, comes at a time when legalized gambling is on the rise in the United States. Until 2018, Nevada was the only state with legal sports betting. But following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting in some form, giving the American sports betting industry a record $10.92 billion in revenue in 2023, according to the American Gaming Association’s annual report has given.

Most of Missouri’s neighboring states now allow gambling in athletics. Led by St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, a coalition of six Missouri professional sports teams, backed by major donations from two sports betting platforms, is pushing for it to pass in the Show-Me State. Legislation to legalize sports betting passed the Missouri House of Representatives in recent years but failed in the Senate.

Approval of the Nov. 5 constitutional amendment would allow people 21 and older who are physically present in Missouri to bet on sporting events, including Missouri State and University of Missouri games, as well as various side bets.

The NCAA has adapted to the nationwide sports betting boom in recent years by implementing new rules and penalties for student-athletes participating in various scenarios. There have been several gambling scandals in college athletics, including a scheme involving more than two dozen athletes at Iowa and Iowa State and one that led to the firing of Alabama head baseball coach Brad Bohannon.

NCAA President Charlie Baker also recently wrote a letter highlighting the association’s efforts to combat online harassment of student-athletes, in large part due to the increase in sports betting.

When asked about potential impacts to local programs, new Missouri State athletic director Patrick Ransdell declined to comment for this story.

Here’s what you need to know about Amendment 2, sports betting, and what the NCAA has done in recent years.

What is Amendment 2?

Proposed Amendment 2 would:

Allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate licensed sports betting, including online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts, and mobile sports betting operator licenses.
Restrict sports betting to adults over the age of 21 who are physically located in the state.
Allow licensing fees mandated by the Missouri Gaming Commission and a 10% wagering tax on revenue received to be used for education, after deducting expenses borne by the commission and required funding of the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund;
Allow the General Assembly to enact legislation consistent with this change.

Under the ballot measure, state agencies estimate one-time costs of $660,000, ongoing annual costs of at least $5.2 million and initial royalty revenues of $11.75 million. The companies also expect unknown tax revenue of $0 million to $28.9 million per year because the proposal allows deductions from sports gaming revenue. Local governments estimate unknown revenue.

A “yes” vote on Amendment 2 will amend the Missouri Constitution, and a “no” vote on Amendment 2 will not amend the Missouri Constitution as it relates to sports betting.

What are the NCAA rules for sports betting?

NCAA rules prohibit participation in sports betting and prohibit the distribution of information to anyone involved in or related to sports betting of any kind with respect to intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competitions.

The NCAA states: “If you are a student-athlete, coach or athletics staff member, regardless of sport or division, you are not permitted to place bets or provide useful information in any NCAA-sponsored sport at any level that may lead to a bet could influence.”

What are the NCAA penalties for those who violate betting rules?

With changes to the NCAA’s sports betting violation policies announced in June 2023, some policies could either bar the violation or suspend it for a period of time.

The guidelines are as follows:

Student-athletes who engage in activities designed to influence the results of their own games or who knowingly provide information to persons involved in sports betting activities may face permanent loss of college eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes betting on their own games or on other sports at their own school.
If a student-athlete bets on his or her own sport at another school, education on sports betting rules and prevention is required as a condition of reinstatement and the loss of 50% of eligibility for a season will be considered.
For all other betting-related violations (e.g. betting on professional sports), the cumulative dollar value of the bets will be considered for reinstatement with the following conditions:
- $200 or Less: Sports Betting Rules and Prevention Education.
- $201-$500: 10% loss of eligibility per season, plus rules and prevention education.
- $501-$800: Loss of 20% eligibility per season, plus rules and prevention education.
- More than $800: Loss of 30% eligibility for a season, plus rules and prevention education.

What has the NCAA said about online harassment of student-athletes due to sports betting?

Baker, the NCAA president, recently wrote that the association, in collaboration with technology company Signify Group, reviewed a study that examined online abuse and threats against student-athletes online.

The analysis found that 80% of the abuses against student-athletes identified over the past two seasons were directed at basketball players participating in March Madness. Of the 1.3 million posts directed at student-athletes, 72,000 of which were tagged as artificial intelligence, more than 5,000 contained offensive, discriminatory or threatening content.

Baker wrote that 63,000 student-athletes, coaches and administration participated in the NCAA’s “comprehensive educational program on gambling harms and protection of student-athletes.” He also noted that nearly 25,000 athletes have completed the association’s first sports betting e-learning module.

How many states have sports betting?

According to AmericanGaming.org, there are 38 states and the District of Columbia where sports betting is legal. Missouri is the only state with an active legislature.

All states bordering Missouri offer legal live sports betting, with the exception of Oklahoma.

Nebraska does not have mobile sports betting legislation, but does allow retail sports betting.

Kansas, which legalized sports betting in 2022, saw $1.85 billion in wagers in its first year of legalization.

Can you bet on Missouri State games?

Those who live in states where sports betting is legal have been able to bet on Missouri State football and men’s basketball games for some time. Betting odds and totals for football games are released weekly and in the days leading up to men’s basketball games.

Some sportsbooks have allowed bettors to bet on women’s basketball and baseball games during NCAA tournaments.

Why are the Cardinals, Blues, Chiefs and Royals pushing sports betting?

Under the constitutional amendment, the coalition’s six sports franchises play in arenas with 11,500 seats or more and would be eligible for a license to accept bets on games, player performances and other elements of a variable-outcome competition. In other words, fans in attendance would be allowed to bet at places like Busch Stadium or Arrowhead Stadium.

The sports teams collaborating under the initiative are the St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues, the St. Louis CITY SC, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Current.

“Recent estimates suggest that Missourians place approximately $2 billion in bets annually through offshore gaming websites,” a coalition press release said, “while other Missourians drive to neighboring states to place bets.”