Show-Me State’s efforts to bring sports betting in Missouri are facing major obstacles, but supporters hope to pass a new amendment that could help push it through before the legislative session ends on Friday.
The Missouri House added language about sports betting to a different bill that had been preventing progress in the Senate. This bill, originally proposed by Senator Denny Hoskins, had previously been blocked in committee.
The amended bill, SB 92, passed by a vote of 83-65. Senate Bill 92 adjusts the tax rate of HB 556 to 15% (up from 10%) and includes a $325,000 annual license renewal fee.
Despite the supporters’ optimism about the amended bill, Senator Hoskins did not seem pleased about the most recent maneuvers. “The bill that the House passed is definitely not a slam dunk,” Hoskins told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch following the House vote Tuesday. “The House put a lot of love into the bill and they might have loved it to death.”
Battle Over Betting Like a Tennis Match
Over the last two years, Rep. Dan Houx has developed the major Missouri sports betting plan. Both of his proposals passed the House but were blocked in the Senate because of Hoskins’ filibustering.
Houx’s bill, HB 556, has been dormant since clearing the House by a vote of 118-35 in March. With the standoff still in place, Houx appended the sports betting language to Hoskins’ measure in an attempt to persuade Hoskins and the Senate to vote on the matter because it is tied to a bill that the chamber has already passed.
“This is just an opportunity to place this on another bill,” Houx said. “I know it’s not going to please everyone.”
The House’s move puts filibustering Senator Denny Hoskins in a bind. Hoskins has long been opposed to supporting any Missouri sports betting bill that doesn’t include regulating illegal VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals; more on this later).
New Hope for Sports Betting in Missouri
Because of this, there is renewed optimism that a bill to legalize sports betting in Missouri (which has failed each of the previous three years) will finally succeed. If sports betting is legalized in Missouri, up to 39 sportsbooks (3 for each of the state’s 13 casinos) might open. Each of the state’s six professional teams would receive one license.
St. Louis Cardinals president Bill DeWitt Jr. recently emphasized the importance of passing a Missouri sports betting bill. He is even considering spearheading a referendum drive to put sports betting on the ballot in 2024. The Kansas City Royals are also interested.
“We’re going to take a serious look at that,” DeWitt said last week to the Post-Dispatch. “I believe there are a few things we could work on here at the end.” We’re simply so fed up. It is working against our fans and residents, who are overwhelmingly in favor of it.”
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