Legal Limelight: Stephanie S. Bell, partner, Ellinger Bell

Stephanie S. Bell, a partner at Ellinger Bell in Jefferson City, specializes in complex government-related legal issues. Her practice includes cases involving election law, regulatory matters and highly regulated industries like gaming and utilities.

Bell earned her law degree and a master’s in public administration from the University of Missouri in 2009. She previously worked at Blitz, Bardgett, & Deutsch, LC, where she represented clients in cases involving constitutional amendments, tax disputes, and Missouri’s Sunshine Law.

In addition to her legal work, Bell serves on several different boards and organizations, including the Missouri Women’s Business Center and Southern Boone YMCA. She’s also an alderman for Ward 2 on the Ashland Board of Aldermen

When did you decide to become an attorney and why?

When I was in college, I went to Truman State University in Kirksville, and I participated in a legislative internship program. I ended up for a semester in Jefferson City in the state capitol building, and actually the senator I worked for was an attorney. At that time, I was kind of debating on whether or not I wanted to go to law school and what I wanted to do. I love politics but as I looked around the building, I saw the weight that the attorneys had in the building, whether they were elected officials or staffers or lobbyists. Folks really looked to them for their expertise and so I thought I might end up back in politics, but with the kind of litigation that we practice now, I’m close to it but I’m a lawyer. So, I kind of got that interest being involved in politics.

How did you get into your practice area and what is the best part about it?

When I was in law school, I reached out to the people that I knew that were in state politics and asked them for recommendations on firms that might practice in these areas that kind of touch on state government, and that’s how I went to my first firm … I fell in love with that area of the law. It’s very nuanced and interesting, and as we get to Amendment 2, especially with respect to ballot measures, it’s truly interesting to be on a side of the law where you’re always doing something new or opening up a new industry. Every day is a little bit different, and I like that a lot.

Were you surprised by the narrow margin in which Amendment 2 passed? Voters in the state approved the measure by a vote of 50.05 percent to 49.95 percent.

I’m not. Missouri has a long history of going to the voters on gambling measures, and while some of them have passed, some of them have failed, and they’ve had to try again. It’s always hard to get a yes vote on an amendment to change the constitution, it’s always kind of an uphill battle. All the polling coming into Amendment 2 showed that it was going to be close. History shows that most of Missouri’s gaming measures, whether it was approving brick and mortar casinos, whether it was approving slot machines, none of them were blowouts.

What do you believe is the most important thing to know about Amendment 2?

There’s going to be two types of licenses. There’s going to be retail licenses and mobile licenses. So retail is kind of in-person sports betting, mobile you’ll be able to bet on an online platform. The history of Missouri gaming is highly regulated, so anyone in a gaming company, whether it be the casino itself, the parent company that owns the casino. Anything within the casino like the companies that manufacture the machines to the payment processors, all of those companies and individuals go through extensive licensing procedures … It’s a really lengthy review in getting a gaming license. What we know is they have to … be prepared to issue these licenses by Dec. 1, 2025. … We’ve got 38 states right now who have legal sports betting. Missouri will be the 39th and so certainly Missouri is able to learn from other states and other jurisdictions about what works and what not.

What else is important to know?

“Although sport betting feels very new to Missouri, for the Missouri Gaming Commission and for the state itself, it’s not necessarily an entirely new process. Fantasy sports, which was kind of a new area, was just authorized in 2018, and they had to draft rules and implement that program, which was successfully done in 2018. In 2010, Missouri capped the total number of brick-and-mortar casinos at 13, and that 13th license was kind of out there for grabs, so they engaged in a competitive license process to issue that license. So, it’s not something that would be unfamiliar to the gaming commission … And then you look outside gaming, we just went through all of the marijuana licensing. That was another place where it was a highly competitive, highly regulated area. So, both the gaming commission and the state more broadly have experience getting these programs off the ground in a way that can meet the timelines that are set forth.”

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