Another state legalizes sports betting, more gaming news

Only one of the four major gambling initiatives on state election ballots this month failed, election officials in Missouri, Colorado and Arkansas confirmed.

But one of the approvals repealed a pro-gambling vote taken in 2018.

In Arkansas, Issue 2 was passed with 55.8 percent of the vote favoring. The yes vote repealed the 2018 authorization for a casino license in Pope County from the state constitution.

Two gambling votes in Missouri were split.

Voters there approved a sports-betting proposal with a result close enough that it can be challenged by a recount. The result makes Missouri the 39th state to allow legal sports wagering.

Mailed votes are still being counted in Missouri, but the margin of approval is tight enough that the state’s election officials say opponents of the initiative could seek a recount. But representatives of Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment said they had no plans to challenge the vote result.

A second ballot initiative in Missouri failed. Voters in the state rejected a plan to add a gambling riverboat to the Osage River between Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks. A total of 52.4 percent of the votes cast rejected a plan to add one to the number of floating casinos that could be operated in the state.

In Colorado, voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition JJ, which removes the $29 million cap on sports wagering revenue going to the Water Plan Implementation Cash Fund to fund state water projects. Voters there approved the measure with 76.4 percent voting yes.

Below is a roundup of gaming news from Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Sports-betting scorecard

With Missouri’s apparent passage of sports wagering in the state, it’s easier to list states without sports betting than those that have it — and three of those states share a border with Nevada.

Among the states that don’t have legalized sports betting are Utah, Idaho and California.

The other states that don’t have sports betting are Hawaii, Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.

Holdouts California and Texas are among the most populated states without sports wagering.

Macao visitation

The Public Security Police Force in Macao has reported that more people have visited the Chinese gambling enclave this year than in all of 2023.

The agency said as of Nov. 10, visitation surpassed 30 million. Last year, a total of 28.3 million had visited Macao.

The agency says the average daily inbound visitor count stands at about 95,000, a roughly 27 percent increase over last year but about 87 percent of prepandemic levels.

According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority statistics, visitation to Southern Nevada is up 2.9 percent to 31.4 million visitors through September.

The city’s October results are expected to be released next week.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.