Missouri One Step Away From Legal Sports Betting
Sports betting could become legal in Missouri after it was given the go-ahead in the house yesterday.
Next step, following the preliminary House vote, is to take the proposed legislation to the Senate. A similar plan to allow sports betting in the state there failed last year. This was due to filibustering by an opponent.
At the time lawmakers also argued over whether it was appropriate to link sports betting with video gambling in gas stations and small grocery stores. That’s because these machines are unregulated, with the company distributing them already facing two federal lawsuits.
The plan to allow sports betting to go ahead in Missouri already has the backing of both major league sports clubs and the casinos. It requires just one more vote to move to the Senate.
The legislation, which has the backing of the state’s major league sports teams and casinos, needs one more vote in the lower chamber before moving to the Senate. It was brought to the House by Republicans Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg) and Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Peters). The legislation proposes sports betting companies pay a revenue tax of 10 per cent to the state’s education fund. One republican suggestion that it be increased to 21 per cent in line with casinos was quickly knocked back.
Around $500,000 of this would go towards helping those addicted to gambling. The financing initiative would be the responsibility of the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Should it go through in the Senate, the law would give the go-ahead for mobile betting, physical betting in casinos and in sports stadiums.
Pro-legislation senators insist that refusing to allow sports betting means the state is losing out on revenue – money that is going to neighbouring regions who don’t have a problem with the concept. This includes Illinois and Kansas.
GeoComply, which studies attempted bets made on mobile phones, revealed that during the previous football season, 8.7 million moves were made by gamblers in Missouri to place bet in other states. These attempts (46 per cent of bets in Kansas and 38 per cent in Illinois) were blocked.
In addition to Kansas and Illinois, other states that Missouri is trailing behind include Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Tennessee. Even Kentucky is considering a sports betting proposal at the moment. This has prompted some supporters in favour of the vote to claim Missouri has become a laughing stock in sports betting terms.
