Lawmakers Take Up Missouri Sports Betting Bill Again

• Lawmakers heard testimony at a committee hearing last night for a Missouri sports betting bill
• The bill will legalize retail and online sports betting for the state
• The bill does not include video lottery terminals, a hot-button issue in the Show Me State

Another year is upon us, and another Missouri sports betting journey has begun.

Last night, members of the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee heard testimony for a pair of identical bills to legalize retail and online sports betting in the Show-Me State.

“I am thrilled to see this before the committee again,” Rep. Ashley Aune (D-14) said during the hearing. “My constituents want this.”

Missouri Sports Betting a Hot Issue

Rep. Dan Houx (R-54) and Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-106) presented their identical sports betting bills to the committee Wednesday evening. The Representatives gave brief testimony for bills HB 556 and HB 581, both of which will legalize retail and online sports betting for state casinos and Missouri professional sports franchises.

The bills have the backing of every professional sports franchise in the state and most of the state casinos.

If approved, the legislation will allow Missouri casinos to partner with up to three sports betting operators and professional sports franchises the ability to partner with up to one operator. In-person sports betting will only be available at state casinos.

The bill sets the sports betting tax rate at 10% of adjusted gross revenue.

Missouri is losing out on millions in potential tax revenue as long as sports betting is illegal in the state, Houx said. Missouri can either chose to legalize sports betting, or wait another year while residents take part through other means.

“This is happening right now in Missouri,” Houx said during the committee hearing.

Missouri residents are either betting through illegal sports betting markets or traveling across the border to states where sports betting is legal, Houx said. Most of the states on Missouri’s border have legalized sports betting.

During the AFC Championship between the Chiefs and Bengals, Houx said 4,751 bets were attempted to be placed at Arrowhead Stadium during the game. Across the border in Kansas, 1.14 million legal bets were placed on the game. The Chiefs are currently listed as slight underdogs in the championship game according to the latest Super Bowl odds.

Competing Bills in the Senate

In December, two Missouri Senators pre-filed their own sports betting bills.

Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-21) and Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34) both pre-filed sports betting bills seeking to legalize retail and online sports betting in the state, but have separate wrinkles that would shape Missouri’s sports betting landscape in very different ways.

Hoskins’ bill (SB 1) seeks to legalize both retail and online sports betting, but also includes the legalization of video lottery terminals (VLTs) throughout the state.

Hoskins’ bill, officially named the “Honoring Veterans and Support Education Act,” will help fund education and capital improvements at Missouri veterans homes and cemeteries.

The bill would allow for VLTs “in fraternal organizations, veterans’ organizations, and truck stops, as such terms are defined in the act, and in business entities licensed to sell liquor by the drink.” VLTs would be taxed at 36% and lottery facilities would be capped at five machines, with other entities at eight machines.

His bill calls for a 10% sports betting tax rate on adjusted gross gaming revenues. The first online sports betting license would cost an operator $250,000, with a second license increasing to $500,000.

Luetkemeyer’s bill (SB 30) will also legalize online and retail sports betting in the state, but does not include a VLT element. Luetkemeyer’s bill sets the sports betting tax rate at 10% of adjusted gross gaming revenue.

Missouri casinos, under SB 30, may conduct retail sports betting with up to three individually branded interactive sports betting platforms. It may conduct online sports betting with up to one interactive sports wagering platform.

Application fees for each license will cost $100,000. An online sports betting platform can apply to the Missouri Gaming Commission to conduct sports wagering through an application fee not to exceed $150,000. Every year after licensure, the platforms can submit a renewal fee not to exceed $125,000.