Missouri Sports Betting Bills Progress Through Legislator

Advocates of legalizing sports betting have received a further boost in Missouri, as both the Senate and House of Representatives have progressed a raft of proposed bills onto the next stage of the legislation process.

Senate Bills 643, 1046 and 1061 will be reviewed later today by the Senate Appropriations Committee, and detail three potential avenues for the establishment of a sportsbook market in the ‘Show-Me’ State.

Introduced to the legislature in the first week of January this year, SB 643 articulates a plan whereby prospective sports wagering licensees will pay an initial application fee of $50k, which is subject to a renewal charge of $20k every other year. Furthermore, the bill permits for a total of three separate odds book platforms to be established by an overall parent operator, with all able to be clad in consistent business branding.

If successful, Senate Bill 1046 would hike up application and renewal costs, slapping $100k and $50k price tags on these required activities respectively. Moreover, the bill proposes a 10% betting tax on adjusted gross turnover, generating considerable funds into state coffers. Operator taxation contributions would land in the ‘Gaming Proceeds for Education Fund’ This would also authorize the creation of three individual sportsbook channels per firm. SB 1061 endorses the parameters set-out by this bill, with some minor tweaks to regulatory detail.

Finally, House Bill 2502, put forward towards the end of January 2022, was awarded first stage approval by the House of Representatives last week. The terms of this bill dictate that potential sports betting suitors would need to put down an original application amount of $150k, and two-yearly renewal charge of $125k.

Although analysts remain optimistic about the likelihood of a Missouri market, this is caveated with some caution. Last May, a host of similar bills also progressed through the early rounds of review, only to be later thrown out by the House Emerging Issues Committee.