ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Legalize sports betting the state of Missouri is finally coming after Missouri residents voted to pass Amendment 2 on Election Night.
Amendment 2, which received the support of the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC, Kansas City Chiefs and more, was passed 50.1% of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the Missouri Secretary of State website.
Cardinals President Bill Dewitt III joined KMOX's 'Total Information A.M.' to discuss Amendment 2 being passed by Missouri voters Tuesday night.
Dewitt III says he learned that the bill would pass at 2:30 a.m. early Wednesday morning and called the passing Amendment 2 "unbelievable with how it played out."
"We were down early, then we sort of made a comeback and got up to about 53% most of the night, then it declined a little bit as some of the counties that weren't as favorable started coming in," said Dewitt III. "Honestly, it was just like a baseball game where your closer is mound, you're trying to protect the lead and he's leaking oil."
"It kept going down t0 52%, 51%, then literally percentage points then it was over. It was just like 'wow I can't believe we won this thing' Almost 4 million votes and won by 7,000. Unbelievable."
Dewitt III says the legalization of sports wagering will open a "nice new revenue stream" for the Cardinals.
"It activates a whole new younger demographic, people who might not have otherwise tuned in to baseball and pick your sport," said Dewitt III. "We'll see how it plays out, but in other markets, we have seen other teams pop for it, so it's created additional interest in the sport."
Dewitt III says he does envision a scenario where there will be a "mini-sportsbook" being located in Ballpark Village.
"We could have a walkup window for example the old (horse)tracks used to have or still do in some stuff," said Dewitt III. "It's a little early to say what we might do in Ballpark Village I think. We will probably focus our efforts in one location."
"This isn't for everybody. This is for some, so people love it. But definitely we don't want to just have it barraging everybody everywhere. I think you will see one venue that focuses on the stats and the lines and stuff like that and then have the rest of Ballpark Village be the way it's been."
Dewitt III was asked about the criticisms surrounding Amendment 2, with opponents such as Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment saying the measure is deceptive in its claim that it will boost education funding.
"The money is definitely going to education," said Dewitt III. "I'll guarantee you we'll blow the numbers out of the water because we kind of modeled this after the economics in terms of like tax rates and things like that, promotional credits after Connecticut."
"In the first year of Connecticut's legalization just last year, it generated $40 million in tax revenue. It's sort of a waterfall, a little piece goes to the Gaming Commission to set the rules, monitor everything and regulate it, then $5 million will go to Problem Gaming, and the rest goes to education and it's constitutional. So it's definitely going to happen."