The Beacon’s Community Lab held a listening session about Missouri’s Amendment 2 that would legalize sports betting. There’s been a lot of chatter within our community wondering what the pros and cons are and whether funding would actually go toward gambling addiction and education. With Election Day around the corner, I thought it was valuable to hear more about their research and how that translates over to Missouri.
I met with a few of our editorial team members — Meg Cunningham, Blaise Mesa, Josh Merchant and Chris Lester — to plan an agenda. This discussion led to the discovery of a KU study, written in part by Justin Balthrop and Kevin Pisciotta, that contained data related to sports betting across the country where it is legal.
The study found that sports betting can lead to a reduction in net investments and the implications on constrained households.
Balthrop and Pisciotta agreed to sit on our panel moderated by Mesa. They talked about the logistics of funding that would come from Amendment 2 and the pros and cons based on their research and personal experiences. A key takeaway from this discussion is what can Missouri learn from other states who have legalized sports betting.
We learned a bit more about terminology if you are someone who bets, the distance people are willing to drive to place bets in legal states and how sports betting can make watching sports a bit more exciting. If you’re a Missourian and curious about what we can learn about sports betting, I encourage you to read our most recent story by Mesa.
If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction please call 1-800-GAMBLER for help or here for Missouri related links and resources.
