Missouri moves closer to sports betting
A Missourian lawmaker has pre-filed a sports betting bill in order to legalise and regulate the segment in the state.
US.- Sports betting could soon arrive in Missouri as lawmakers are moving towards debating the segment’s regulation. Representative Cody Smith has become the second lawmaker to pre-file a sports betting bill that includes the controversial integrity fee that has lit up the discussion in the US after the Supreme Court struck PASPA down.
Rep. Smith’s bill would set an integrity fee that would amount to 1% of total sports handle, to be split in two. 0.75% would be transferred to registered professional leagues and the remaining 0.25% would be paid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, for wagers placed on college sports games.
Integrity fees have been rejected across states where sports betting has already been legalised as lawmakers and operators consider them as a way for sports leagues to get a cut of the business, even as they opposed its liberalisation all the way until SCOTUS ruled in its favour. Nonetheless, Missouri seems to be considering its implementation as well as Michigan, where state Representative Brandt Iden said lawmakers would consider introducing integrity fees.
