As the battle to legalize sports gambling continues in the Show-Me State, Missouri is now one step closer to legalizing the controversial measure. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft approved ballot language on Dec.ember 4th, 2023 in order to put the issue to the voters (presumably) at some point in 2024.

But how did we get here? The federal ban on sports betting was overturned with a Supreme Court decision in Murphy vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association and NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen vs NCAA, which was taken up by the high court in 2017. That decision left sports betting laws up to the states, creating a robust sports betting market for the first time in the United States. Until that point, only the states of Nevada and New Jersey were allowed legalized sports betting.

Missouri, however, has not legalized the issue yet. That’s not without trying, however, as six different bills have been proposed in Jefferson City to legalize the industry, to no avail. That’s due to politicians tying the issue to Video Lottery Terminals, which are also illegal in Missouri. The last legislative session came and went without any bill even getting it as far as the Governor’s desk.

However, there is a hope for sports gambling in Missouri. St. Louis Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III, along with a coalition of Missouri professional sports teams, have been leading the charge for the issue to go to the voters. Similar to the legalization of marijuana with Amendment 3 just a few years ago, which couldn’t get a bill approved through the state legislature, DeWitt hopes to sidestep the legislative and executive branches for the legalization of sports gambling.

The American Gambling Association says that sports betting was a $7.7 billion industry back in 2022, despite only being legal in 33 states and the District of Columbia. There are not currently any pending sports betting bills in the state legislature, due to it being out of session.