Representatives in the Missouri House have given first-round approval to a bill backed by the Show Me State’s major league teams and local casinos: legalized sports betting. The legislation will need one final vote to move onto a Senate vote, where the issue has historically been blocked.
The Senate’s argument in 2022 centred around whether sports betting and video gambling should be considered in the same light. Two federal lawsuits have since occurred regarding unregulated slot machines being placed in businesses by Torch Electronics.
Representative Dan Houx and Representative Phil Christofanelli sponsor this legislation. If passed, a 10% tax rate would apply to sports wagers. Revenue generated from betting would go to the Missouri state education fund and be overseen by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Representative Houx said he was not opposed to a higher tax rate “if that’s what is needed for the measure to win Senate approval.”
Supporters said that sports bettors have missed out on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, as well as the current March Madness tournament. Representative Christofanelli said, “Everyone is doing this on their phones illegally in the state of Missouri right now.”
The bill would allow mobile betting in addition to wagering at casinos, though Representative Marlene Terry was unsuccessful in raising the potential tax to the casino rate of 21%.
Six of the eight states that border Missouri have legalized sports wagering, and advocates of the bill say that Missourians are going to Illinois or Kansas to bet on their favorite sports teams. GeoComply, a mobile betting location tracker, found that during NFL season 8.7 million bets were blocked when Missourians tried to wager in other states online.
Christofanelli also said legal sports betting would bring tax dollars to the state, rather than to unregulated offshore betting companies.
