Casinos appear to have won their big bet to take loss limits off the table in Missouri.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Missouri voters were on their way to approving Proposition A, 55 percent to 45 percent. That would bring an end to the state’s one-of-a-kind $500 loss limit and card requirement at casinos, while capping the number of licenses at 13 and boosting taxes by five percent.

It’s something casinos have been pushing for years - they say it’s key to staying competitive with gaming facilities in neighboring states - and this year Ameristar Casinos and Pinnacle Entertainment spent $15 million on their campaign. They included a 5 percent tax hike that could generate between $105 million and $130 million in new school funding and ran a campaign focused on the benefits to education.

The measure’s backers called the vote “a win for our state’s economy, our schools and common sense.”

“It means Missouri can finally compete for casino visitors and revenues on a level playing field with neighboring states, and it means there will be more revenues to help fund elementary and secondary education from the gaming tax paid by casinos,” the Yes on A Coalition said in a statement.

Prop A won by solid margins in both the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, where most of the larger Missouri casinos are located. It trailed in many counties in the Bootheel, and in central and southwestern parts of the state.