Two Sports Betting Bills Filed in Missouri, but VLT Issue Looms Large

• Two sports betting bills have been filed in Missouri
• Video lottery terminals will likely block any chance for sports betting legalization in the state
• Missouri professional sports teams are trying to legalize sports betting through a ballot initiative

The last scene of the final episode of Seinfeld better sums up Missouri’s sports betting legalization journey over the last several years more perfectly than I ever could.

If you’ve never seen it (and if you haven’t, where the heck have you been for the last 25 plus years?) George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld end the series with the exact same conversation they had about  button placement on a shirt when they opened the sitcom in 1989. The series ends with this dialogue:

George Costanza: “Haven’t we had this conversation before?”

Jerry Seinfeld: “You think?”

George Costanza: “I think we have.”

Jerry Seinfeld: “Yeah, maybe we have.”

It’s the perfect microcosm of recent Missouri sports betting legislation efforts, as two Missouri senators have yet again filed sports betting bills that likely stand little chance to reach the finish line for the third year in a row.

Missouri Sports Betting Goes Round and Round

Senators Denny Hoskin (R-21) and Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34) both filed sports betting bills in Missouri last week, which are both similar to bills they filed last year.

Luetkemeyer’s bill, SB 852, will legalize online and retail sports betting in the Show Me State. Riverboat casinos will be able to partner with up to three online operators while sports teams can partner with up to one.  The bill features a 12% tax rate, which is an increase from last year’s 10% rate, and features promotional deductions scaling back over five years. During the first year of legalization, operators will be able to deduct 100% of promotion spending from their gross gaming revenue and then deduct nothing by the fifth year.

Each licensed casino will pay $100,000 for a sports betting license and each online sports betting operator will pay $150,000 for a license.

Hoskins bill, SB 824, the Missouri Returning Heroes Education Act, will feature similar sports betting legalization to  Luetkemeyer’s bill, but also legalize video lottery terminals in the state. VLTs have been at the very crux of the sports betting argument and have likely postponed any chance the state has had for legalized betting.

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. Hoskins previously said the legalization of VLTs will help rid the state of rampant “gray machines,” which are thousands of unregulated and illegal gaming machines being operated across Missouri.

His bill also includes a 10% tax rate of retail and online sports betting revenues. It would earmark up to $1 million in revenue annually from the gaming commission fund to offset the costs of tuition reductions for certain combat veterans.

Since 2022, Hoskins has successfully blocked and filibustered any and all attempts to legalize sports betting in the Senate for bills that did not include the legalization of VLTs.

It’s unlikely he will change his mind on the issue this session.

Putting Decision in Voters’ Hands

Despite the roadblock on the legislative side of things, the state may have a new avenue to legalize sports betting this year.

A contingency of Missouri sports franchises, which includes the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City, and Kansas City Current, are moving forward with several sports betting initiatives petitions to bring the decision to state voters.

The Missouri Secretary of State has allowed eight petitions to move into a circulation phase (signature collecting) to potentially put a question to legalize sports betting on Missouri’s 2023 November general election ballot.

The eight petitions all seek to legalize Missouri retail and online sports betting, with state casinos and professional sports franchises eligible for licenses.

Each petition sets a sports betting tax rate of 10%, retail licenses at a price of $250,000, and online sports betting licenses at $500,000. License holders will have to pay a license renewal fee every five years. The only difference between each petition is the number of operators a license holder would be able to partner with.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been the main proponents of the sports betting initiative vehicle of legalization, having become disillusioned with the chances a bill is passed by the legislature.

“Each of the organizations within our coalition supports legalization of sports wagering in Missouri as a way to increase engagement with our fans and, ultimately, generate a significant new source of revenue for Missouri. This will keep Missourians from going to other states with legalized sports betting and taking tax revenue into those states. It will keep us as sports teams competitive with our counterparts in other states with legalized sports betting,” Mike Whittle, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the St. Louis Cardinals, previously told Sports Betting Dime.

To be placed on the ballot at least 8% of registered voters’ signatures in six of eight Missouri districts must be collected, which is a minimum of 171,592 signatures.