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Missouri Sports Betting Bill Wins House Support in New Gambling Expansion Bid
By Jeff Osienya Mar 31, 2023 LegalityThe Show-Me State is taking another run at expanding its regulated gambling landscape with a new retail and online sports betting bill. House Reps have given the green light in the first round, but there’s still a big VLT obstacle in the Senate.The journey to an expanded gaming market in Missouri has received a shot in the arm after jumping its first significant hurdle in the state’s House of Representatives. House Bill 556, the Show-Me State’s measure to legalize retail and online sports wagering within the confines of the state, won overwhelming first-round approval.
With round one out of the way, the measure now awaits a formal roll-call vote to complete its journey in the House of Representatives. After that, the next stop should be the Senate, where it is set to face its biggest obstacle yet. Nonetheless, if everything goes according to plan, Missouri residents could be able to wager legally on sports by the end of this year.
Key Highlights of HB 566
The proposed House Bill 556 is set to bring up to a whopping 45 sportsbook apps to Missouri, which will set up shop by collaborations with the existing casino establishments in the state. Already, most bigwig sports betting brands across the country, like FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings, and Caesars, have indicated that they are willing to seek licensure in the state. Similarly, professional sports franchises in the state, like St. Louis Blues, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Chiefs, will be allowed to seek a license and partner with a sports betting operator.
Further, the bill also proposes that all net winnings of sports betting, after deductions of promotional costs like free bets, will be subject to a 10% taxation. There were some spirited efforts by the House Democrats in Missouri to bump up the tax rate, but that idea did not see the light of day. This is because the House Republicans, led by the bill sponsor Rep. Dan Houx (R- Warrensburg), vehemently opposed such amendments. That said, many industry stakeholders see the 10% proposed tax rate as very operator friendly, so you shouldn’t expect any complaints from that side of the divide.
Based on recent research studies, Missouri could bring in $21 million to $29 million in additional revenue annually upon market maturity, should the bill become law. The revenue will, of course, go towards worthy causes in the state. For instance, through the proceeds of sports betting, the Missouri Gaming Commission will receive at least $500,000 to deal with problem gambling issues that may occur among the masses.
The Senate Could be an Enemy of Progress, Again
While it is expected to be smooth sailing in the House of Representatives for the sports betting bill, the Senate is shaping up to be an entirely different story again. Remember, this isn’t Missouri’s first attempt at legalizing sports betting. The current sponsor of the bill Rep Dan Haux sponsored a similar bill that cleared the House in 2022 with a healthy margin of 115-33. It, however, met many stumbling blocks in the Senate and eventually faltered.
Drawing key lessons from the failure in 2022, Rep Houx hopes that 2023 holds a brighter outcome for his bill. Just like in 2022, the main sticking point of the bill remains the existence of “gray” games or Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) if you’d like a more complex term to refer to them. Gray machines are called so because they operate in a gray area, legally speaking. They remain unregulated, and close to 20,000 are present in Missouri.
Either way, according to some legislators, these machines should be legalized. Speaking to Fox4News in January, Rep Haux explained his stance on these unconventional slot machines by stating:
Quote“It’s always been my belief that video lottery and sports gambling are two separate bills, so it’s just a sports gambling bill on its own.”
All that remains to be seen is whether the majority of the Senators will see things from Rep Haux’s perspective.
Pro Franchises are Rooting for the Bill’s Passage
Rep Haux’s proposed bill has also received significant backing from all six professional sports franchises in Missouri, i.e., the Chiefs, Cardinals, Blues, Royals, Sporting Kansas City, and St Louis City Soccer Club. During his submission to the House Committee, St Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWit III called the delay of legalizing sports betting in Missouri a “downside” for the Missouri sports teams and their fans. De Witt said:
Quote“One of the downsides of the delay of several years here is that fans haven’t been able to bet on sports legally. However, one of the good sides is that we’ve learned from other states. We’ve learned how to tweak this to make it more reflective of the market that’s out there.”
Meanwhile, Missouri sports betting fans are eagerly waiting for the sports betting bill to sail through the legislative process. And the numbers out of the Superbowl were a clear indicator of this fact. According to GeoComply, there were 10 million attempts at wagering from Missouri during the entire NFL season. Rep Ashley Aune (D- Kansas City), one of the most vocal supporters of the bill, is hopeful that the legislation will bear fruit. Speaking on the matter, she said:
Quote“It seems simple, and our constituents genuinely don’t understand why we haven’t got it to the finish line yet.”
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