Missouri sports betting bills move forward
Three bills aiming to legalise sports betting have passed out of their respective committees.
US.- Missouri House and Senate committees have advanced three bills proposing sports betting legislation. Representative Dan Houx’s HB556 and Phil Christofanelli’s HB581 passed the House Emerging Issues Committee, while senator Tony Luetkemeyer’s SB 30 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Meanwhile, a Senate committee rejected a bill, SB 1, that combines sports betting and video lottery terminals.
HB556 would allow up to 39 mobile skins for Missouri casino operators and sports teams. In-person sportsbooks could open at the state’s 13 riverboat casinos, while sports teams would receive an exclusion zone around their venues. The legislation establishes a 10 per cent sports betting tax. Last year, a bill from Houx failed in the Senate.
SB30 would allow each casino in the state to have a physical sportsbook and would also allow mobile betting.
Representative Phil Christofanelli told KCRG: “There is urgency to get sports betting legalised this session. We need to provide a legal and regulated framework for sports wagering that will help bring in millions in additional revenue to help fund our state’s priorities. We are currently losing this revenue to neighbouring states who have already taken action to provide a legal avenue for sports betting.”
