This week, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2, which will legalize sports betting across the state. The initiative, which received the backing of the state’s professional sports franchises passed by a narrow margin.
Forbes Magazine wrote about it saying “with approximately 2.9 million votes cast, the measure passed by less than 7,500 votes, according to unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. Missouri becomes the 39th state nationwide to legalize sports betting, joining neighboring Kansas which launched sports wagering in September 2022.
Bill DeWitt III was on KMOX Radio with Tom Ackerman telling Ackerman he found out about it at 2:30 in the morning.
“We were down early and then made a comeback,” said DeWitt II who talked about how close it was and how nervous he was as the totals went back and forth. “I can’t believe we won this thing.”
He was asked where the money will go and he said “this money’s definitely going to education.”
He also added, “We’re in a hyper-competitive business… it is largely a sponsorship for us. He said it would be helpful in revenue generating and that it also will bring younger fans to baseball.
While the Cardinals hope the sports betting will be helpful in their quest to cut their budget, the fans are betting on what the team will look like on the field next year.
The general managers are having their annual meetings and one of the interesting quotes from John Mozeliak to come out of it was, ‘Our team is not going to look all that different.” This came the same day he said catcher Willson Contreras would be moving to first base, and it’s unlikely Paul Goldschmidt will return next year and Nolan Arenado could be traded.
