Missouri Judge Allows Sports Betting Vote

A Missouri judge has ruled that a question on legalizing sports betting will remain on the November 5 statewide ballot, despite an 11th-hour lawsuit challenging the sufficiency of collected signatures. The lawsuit, brought by political consultants and Missouri voters, argued that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft improperly certified over 750 signatures from the 1st Congressional District, which they claimed should have been rejected. Judge Daniel Green ruled that lawsuits to remove certified petitions are highly disfavored. Proponents of the initiative, including major sports teams and betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, argued the certification was correct and that any errors were minor. The decision must be finalized by Tuesday, the deadline for removing constitutional amendments from the ballot.