JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missourians looking to gamble on sports will have to wait a little longer following a decision by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.
The ruling from Hoskins’ office applies to emergency rules proposed by the Missouri Gaming Commission. Now, the implementation will have to wait after Hoskins suggested the ballot initiative “does not warrant an ’emergency’ rulemaking designation,” according to a report from BleacherNation.
Instead of an expedited process proposed as emergency rules, sports betting will have to go through the typical timeline for enacting such provisions, which includes input from the public.
While many thought this summer would bring the legalization of sports betting, insiders say the soonest Missouri can expect is now sometime in the fall.
Regardless of Hoskins’ decision to delay the rules until public comments are collected, Missouri law is firm on the implementation of constitutional amendments as well as statewide ballot initiatives. Statewide sports wagering must be implemented by December 1 of this year.
Missouri voters approved Amendment 2 last November by a margin of less than 3,000 votes statewide. The 50% to 50% tally ended up being the closest race on the entire state’s ballot.
Despite the ruling from Hoskin’s office, the application process continues for those seeking involvement in the new sports betting apparatus. Advertisements have also begun to market new ways to place bets.
Jan Zimmerman, who chairs MGC, said “It’s not a quick process, not only for sports betting, but for any license process we do with casinos or other individuals. It just takes a while to get it done,” MGC Chair Jan Zimmerman told FOX 4 in Kansas City earlier this year.
Zimmerman said Missouri leaders have spent time learning from the states that touch Missouri and also have sports gaming.
FOX 2 reached out to Secretary Hoskins’s office for comment and a spokesperson said he was not available for interviews Monday.