What the passing of Missouri Amendment 2 means for the St. Louis Cardinals

On Election Day on Tuesday, Missourians voted in favor of Amendment 2. The contents of this amendment relate directly to sports betting in the state of Missouri.

According to the amendment, this passing allows "the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate licensed sports wagering including online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts and mobile licenses to sports betting operators." Now, anyone over the age of 21 can legally gamble in the state of Missouri.

Missouri now joins 38 other states that have legalized sports betting.

There are many different angles to this amendment being passed. From a public perspective, there's a chance that millions of dollars could go to public schools. While it's unclear just how much tax money may be allocated to schools -- that sum depends on what's left over after administrative costs and programs to help people with gambling addictions -- there's a chance schools do see some financial benefits.

The legalization of sports gambling has been a moral issue for some, and that could create issues in terms of addiction. However, this amendment could also cut back on people who live in Missouri traveling to Illinois or Kansas to place bets. This will keep sports betting money in the state, thus increasing state revenue.

From a baseball perspective, there are plenty of benefits to the legalization of sports gambling, especially for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Following their debacle with their regional sports network (RSN) since March of 2023, the DeWitt family has had to operate on a strict financial budget. It's estimated that the Cardinals will lose $66 million a year with the fallout of Diamond Sports Group; that's a pretty penny for any organization, especially one that relies so heavily on its TV rights deal to make money.

When the Chicago Cubs opened their own sportsbook in 2023, they were one of just 12 professional sports teams in North America with a sportsbook in or near the stadium. The Cubs opted to place theirs inside Wrigley Field.

According to reporting at the time, the Cubs and DraftKings agreed to a 10-year, $100 million deal. That netted the Cubs $10 million annually. The Cubs also make a small amount of money on food and beverages sold at the sportsbook., though that total is almost negligible in the grand scheme of things.

One can assume a deal for a sportsbook at Busch Stadium or Ballpark Village would be comparable. Several companies, including FanDuel and BetMGM, are placing sportsbooks in sports stadiums across the country. With the recent news that Bally Sports Midwest is being re-branded as FanDuel Sports Network as a result of Diamond's bankruptcy hearings, a deal between the Cardinals and FanDuel would be logical.

The morality of sports gambling is certainly up for debate, and rightfully so, but fans (and the DeWitts) can be assured that the Cardinals will be seeing more revenue from this deal. Hopefully, that income will be re-invested back into the team, and John Mozeliak and Chaim Bloom will be able to field a more competitive team as a result.