Kansas City Chiefs Football Team Expresses Support For Missouri Sports BettingBackers Hope To Get Issue On The November Ballot |
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Efforts to legalize sports betting in Missouri have one major supporter – the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. An initiative is underway in the state to add the issue to the November ballot, giving voters the chance to decide the matter.
The team reaffirmed its support for legalization last week. Chiefs President Mark Donovan gave major credit to the St. Louis Cardinals for leading the efforts on Friday, but also said the franchise is fully behind the efforts.
“I’ve spent more time in Jefferson City (the state capital) on that issue, than just about any other issue,” Donovan said in a news conference as the team prepared for training camp. “We really believe it’s the right thing. We think it’s good for the state. We think it’s good for fans of the sport and other sports. And we think it’s a proven entity. It’s something that’s worked at a pretty significant level in about every state surrounding the state of Missouri, so we are very much in support of that.”
Missouri is only one of about a dozen states that haven’t legalized sports betting. The voter initiative would legalize online betting as well as authorize an additional casino at the Lake of the Ozarks.
A coalition of teams including the Cardinals, Chiefs, Blues, and Royals submitted the petition to the state in May. According to media reports, the group needed about 171,000 valid signatures to place the issue on the ballot.
Backers went well above that number, with 340,000 signatures for the sports betting proposal and 320,000 for the casino plan. The petition drive came after failed efforts toward legalization in the legislature over the last few years.
Once received, the secretary of state’s office has three more weeks to process the petitions and county clerks are now charged with verifying the signatures.
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