Sometimes you need to savor the small victories, which is what supporters of legalizing sports betting in the Show-Me State got on Monday in the Missouri House of Representatives.
According to the legislature's website, the Missouri House’s rules committee for administrative oversight passed House Bill 2331 after meeting in an executive session not open to the public.
The bill, sponsored by longstanding sports betting supporter Rep. Dan Houx, would authorize event wagering at the state’s casinos and over the Internet via apps and sites. It was already passed by the House's public policy committee in late January.
The nitty-gritty
H.B. 2331 states that casinos could have in-person wagering and three mobile betting skins apiece, which could be operated by entities such as DraftKings or FanDuel. The state’s professional sports teams could also have one mobile skin.
The casinos would pay an application fee of no more than $100,000 for a sports betting license and an annual renewal fee of no more than $50,000. An online sports betting operator would have to pay an application fee of no more than $150,000 and an annual renewal fee of no more than $325,000.
Sports betting revenue would be taxed at a 10% rate, and money raised by the newly legalized wagering activity would go to fund education. The entire cost of bonus bets and free play provided to customers in year one could be deducted from taxable revenue, but that deduction limit drops by 25% a year until it hits zero for year five.
Bettors would have to be 21 or older under H.B. 2331 as well. Wagering on college player props in a game involving a Missouri school would be forbidden.
Not much to show for it, yet
A full House vote on H.B. 2331 awaits. But making progress in the Missouri House has never been that big of a problem for legal sports betting legislation. It’s the Senate where bills have gone to die, and barring a change of heart in the chamber, the odds of H.B. 2331 becoming law remain long.
The lack of legislative success has prompted Missouri’s six professional sports franchises to try an end-around and propose the legalization of sports betting directly to voters. The campaign, called Winning for Missouri Education, is collecting signatures to place a sports betting measure on November’s election ballot that envisions a similar setup to the one proposed by H.B. 2331.
A recent poll conducted by FOX4 and Emerson College suggests the ballot measure could find success with the public.
The survey found 62.3% of respondents supportive of a Missouri sports betting initiative that helps fund education, compared to 37.7% who voiced opposition to such a measure.
“Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Missourians in every corner of the state want to bring those economic impacts back to the Show Me State to help strengthen our communities and provide tens of millions to education each year,” Winning for Missouri Education Jack Cardetti said in a statement.
