TALLAHASSEE -- The group behind a petition drive to allow sports gambling is giving it up, at least for now.
In a statement, the group Florida Education Champions admits it won't meet the deadline to get its proposal on the November ballot. It would have authorized sports betting at pro sports venues, parimutuel facilities and online platforms. It says the COVID surge decimated petition gathering operations.
FEC had until Feb. 1 to submit nearly 900,000 valid signatures to place the proposal on the November ballot. As of Friday, the committee had submitted 472,927 valid signatures, according to the state Division of Elections website.
DraftKings and FanDuel pumped more than $37 million into the effort between them.
Florida Education Champions says it's looking at all options to bring sports betting to Florida.
Information from the News Service of Florida was used in this report. An earlier version contained a reference to an unrelated petition drive.
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