Missouri Senate committee debates tax rate for sports betting bill
The Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee has discussed an appropriate tax rate to include in the bill.
US.- The Missouri Senate’s Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee this week discussed the sports betting bill previously greenlighted by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Legislators discussed an appropriate tax rate to include in the bill and what the tax revenue would go toward.
The tax rate could end ranging from 8 to 21 per cent. Some legislators are pushing for a portion of the revenue to go toward gambling addiction treatment programs.
House Bill 2502, introduced by Republican Dan Houx, is the bill that has made it the furthest in five years of failed legislation. The bill was introduced on January 19 and would allow both online and retail sports betting. If it passes the Senate, the House will need to concur with any changes made on the Senate floor.
Senator Lincoln Hough, chairman of the Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee, said: “I think right now is the time to do something and make it fair and equitable for the people that live here, instead of you know, people sometimes driving across state lines, and then placing bets over there.”
Hough believes it’s the right time for Missouri, with stakeholders finally working together on the effort.
“Essentially, what you’ve had over the last several years is sports teams having one position athletes having one position casinos having one position,” Hough added. “And now it seems that with the two bills we’ve combined right now, those groups are all aligned, and they’re all working together.”
The bill would open up to 39 mobile sportsbook licences for the state’s 13 casinos, which would also be able to offer land-based betting, and for the six professional teams.
