Missouri Sports Betting Hopes Dwindling in Last Two Weeks of Session

• With only two weeks left in the legislative session, Missouri sports betting hopes are dwindling
• House Speaker Rep. Dean Plocher said odds are “decreasing daily” for sports betting
• A House approved sports betting bill has yet to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee

Time may be running out on hopes for legalized Missouri sports betting this legislative session.

With just about two weeks left in the Missouri legislative session, House Speaker Rep. Dean Plocher (R-89) recently said in an interview that the odds are dwindling for legalized sports betting this year.

“It’s decreasing daily, it seems the sun is setting. I think that overwhelmingly we support sports betting to a degree that it needs to be regulated. The bill we passed out of the House is a good bill.” he said.

Senate Controls Missouri Sports Betting Fate

Rep. Dan Houx’s (R-54) sports betting bill, HB 556, was approved by the House of Representatives in late March and hopes were high that legislation could be approved this year. However, since the March 22 approval and the legislation’s move over to the Senate, it has yet to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Houx’s 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.

This would allow for up to 45 online sports betting operators in Missouri, as there are 13 casinos and six professional sports franchises.

Requests for comment from Houx were not returned.

Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-21), a key figure in sports betting negotiations and discussions in the state for the last several years, told Sports Betting Dime that the Senate Majority Floor Leader will only bring up a gaming bill on the floor if all 34 Senators have agreed to a deal.

“Hopes are dwindling unless a deal can be reached with all 34 senators…33 other senators have their own legislative priorities and this (sports betting) is not one of them,” he said.

Hoskins noted that the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee has not “noticed up” a committee hearing on the bill.

Senate Sports Betting Bill No Longer Viable?

But what about Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s (R-34) sports betting bill, SB 30? The sports betting bill was called to the Senate floor nearly three weeks ago for discussion and quickly became mired in 12 proposed amendments during eight hours of discussion.

A number of the proposed amendments to Luetkemeyer’s bill were actually approved, namely an increase of the sports betting tax rate to 15%, and a $4 fee for operators and/or casinos for every two hours a customer is logged onto one of the online sports betting apps.

Luetkemeyer eventually pulled his bill from the Senate floor without a vote taken on the legislation.

It’s unlikely the bill will be supported with the approved amendments.

“Twelve Senators offered 15 different amendments on SB 30. Casinos have said they will not support SB 30 as amended on the Senate floor,” Hoskins told Sports Betting Dime.

Hoskins floated an amendment to include legalized video lottery terminals (VLTs), and cap machines at three per venue, in Luetkemeyer’s bill. His amendment was defeated on the Senate floor.

It’s important to note that Hoskins filibustered a sports betting bill in 2022 and also was heard on mic during this month’s Senate hearing asking Luetkemeyer to pull his bill from the floor.

Little bit of a hot mic moment from Sen. Denny Hoskins last night as he was explaining yet another amendment for Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s Missouri sports betting bill.

“Are you pulling this or am I talking for three hours?”

Luetkemeyer pulled the bill shortly thereafter. pic.twitter.com/KTFEq6lIh6

— RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl) April 6, 2023

So What Now?

Basically, any remaining hope for sports betting lies with Rep. Houx’s bill and its chances to be moved successfully out of committee and find its way to the Senate floor for a vote. But what awaits the bill if it actually reaches the floor?

Houx’s bill was very similar to Luetkemeyer’s legislation. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Houx’s bill will face the same deluge of amendments that doomed Luetkemyer’s sports betting bill. Negotiations are likely taking place behind the scenes, but with just two weeks remaining in the session the Senate and House may be too far apart to viably get anything done for sports betting in 2023.