Show Me State Sports Betting Bill Moves Forward
Lawmakers in the Show-Me State are once again looking to legalize Missouri Sports Betting, and this might finally be the year that something gets done. This type of legislation has been in the news since the beginning of the year, but a bill has started to take the necessary steps.
The current bill is in the House of Representatives, but it could be approved and passed on to the state Senate by the end of this week. An unofficial voice vote approved legislation to allow the launch of this industry, and a formal vote is now the next step.
The legislative session in Missouri runs all the way through the middle of May, and that will give the Senate plenty of time to discuss this bill as well. If approved, both retail and mobile sports betting would be legal throughout the state, and Missouri could become a large sports betting market.
Early projections estimate that the state will receive close to $10 million in tax revenue each year from sports betting, and that’s a big reason that many lawmakers are on board. There are 13 casinos in the state, and that is where a majority of the retail betting would be done.
Coalition Supports Sports Betting
As has been the case in other states, casino leaders and professional sports teams have joined in on the movement in Missouri. A similar push has helped other states get a sports betting bill passed, and that could be the final push needed in Missouri.
There are four major professional sports teams in the Show Me State and all four of them are a part of this coalition. The Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals could also be in line to offer retail sports betting at their stadiums.
This bill is far from being official, but there is enough language that is currently included to forecast how this industry might operate.
Pressure From Neighboring States
The new source of tax revenue is plenty of motivation to legalize sports betting, but lawmakers are also facing pressure from other states. The Midwest portion of the United States has turned into a hotbed of legal sports betting, and Missouri is struggling to keep pace.
There are eight states that border Missouri and legal sports betting is available in four of them. Of that group, Illinois has become one of the top markets in the U.S. and the Land of Lincoln has benefited from taking bettors from Missouri.
Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma are all working to legalize sports betting as well, and Missouri has to get to the finish line either before or around the same time. It’s unclear what stance the Senate will take, but a vote of approval could have sports betting launched at some point in 2022.
The process has been talked about for a while now as you can see in one of our previous articles here.
