In preparation for 2021's legislative push for regulated sports betting in Missouri, three Senators have pre-field a bill each that lays out the rules of engagement for entry of sportsbook operators in the state.
Lawmakers in Missouri are giving sports betting legalization another go, to try and see the launch of a regulated market next year. Three Republican senators in the Show Me State; Tony Luetkemeyer (Parkville), Denny Hoskins (Warrensburg), and Caleb Rowden (Columbia) have all tabled different drafts of sports betting bills, anticipating that at least one of them will be okayed by the rest of the lawmakers.
All the bills have been prefilled ahead of the 2021 legislative session which plans to start on 6th January. While the bills generally differ on paper, their main aim is to pave way for regulation of retail and mobile sports betting in Missouri. The lawmakers are hopeful that this is the sprint that will finally lead them past the finish line after all the 6 bills that were proposed for this year’s legislative sessions failed to gain traction.
Senator Hoskins and Luetkemeyer have been relentless in their sports betting regulation pursuit since 2019, without bearing any fruit. In 2020, part of the reason why their efforts didn’t materialize is the rise in Covid-19 cases which led to early adjournment of the state legislature.
What do The Three Sports Betting Bills in Missouri Say?
The key differences between the sports betting bills that have been tabled by the trio are in the application fees, licensing fees, and taxation rates. Here’s a breakdown of what the bills propose for Missouri’s regulated sports betting market;
Senator Luetkemeyer’s bill which has been pre-filed as Senate Bill 217 will allow practically all forms of betting except collegiate player prob bets. In short, should this bill be passed into law, the state won’t permit placing wagers of in-game occurrences or non-occurrence that will not affect the final result of the match.
It’s also worth noting that SB 217 doesn’t talk about branded online licenses meaning that there will be a maximum of 13 online sports betting platforms that will operate in affiliation with land-based casinos in the state. As for the fees, a $10K application fee will be levied to operators alongside an annual licensing fee of $5K and an additional $10K paid to the Missouri Gaming Commission after every 5 years. The state will also be keeping 6.25% of the adjusted gross receipts for its coffers.
The Senate Bill 18, championed by Sen. Hoskins proposes that 0.25% of the total handle should be paid to professional leagues in the state for their games and likewise, 0.25% of the handle wagered on NCAA Division 1 events to go to sports programs in the state. In this bill, Hoskin’s also suggests $25K worth of entry fees, an annual licensing fee of $50K plus 9% taxation on the operator’s gross gaming revenue.
Moreover, one of the most distinguishing components of Hoskin’s SB 10 is royalty fees to be taken out of the total sports betting handle, to be paid to governing bodies of sports events that players wager on.
Finally, Sen. Rowden’s proposals in Senate Bill 256 give the mandate to gaming watchdogs in the state to control wagers that can be staked on specific events in the state. But then, with SB 256, there’s no prohibition on prop betting or any mention of royalty fees. Additionally, licensed casinos in the state are allowed to team up with third parties to offer mobile sports betting services across the state.
An entry fee of $50K will be charged for applicants plus $20K in annual license fees and the operators will also part with 6.75% of their gross gaming revenue as taxation payable to the state.
Another component of note in these bills is the fact that should any of the senate bills be passed into law, the revenue collected by the state will be used to fund educational programs as the law currently dictates for revenue collected from casino gambling – unless new law is passed to introduce a different plan. Based on recent research projections, the Show Me state could be looking at an annual revenue worth $95 million should the regulated sports betting dream become a reality.
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