Missouri is back on track to join the list of states with legal sports betting in the U.S.
House Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Peters) sponsored House Bill 581 on Wednesday, legislation designed to bring online sports betting sites to the Show Me State.
The bill is the second such piece of Missouri sports betting legislation to be introduced this week for the opening of the new 2023 state legislative session that runs through May 12.
On Tuesday, Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg) filed a parallel sports betting measure — House Bill 556 — a follow-up to his previous House Bill 4 that he filed in September to no avail.
Rep. Christofanelli's proposed Bill 581 would grant licenses to sportsbooks to offer mobile sports wagering in partnership with casinos that would also be able to offer retail sports betting on their premises.
Under the terms of his legislation, each land-based casino in Missouri would be granted three "skins" (or licenses) that would allow them to partner with online sportsbooks, up to a maximum of six skins for companies that own multiple casinos.
Both House bills would impose a 10% tax on sportsbook revenue — the same rate as that currently placed on operators in neighboring Kansas.
"Sports betting in Missouri is already happening. Missourians frequently cross state lines to place bets or go through online avenues that don’t bring the state any revenue," said Rep. Christofanelli. "Legalizing sports betting is a common-sense issue. I hope this is the year we can get this done so we can give Missourians more personal freedom and bring more revenue to our state."
HB 581 bill would also allow Missouri's professional sports teams — the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals, the NHL's St. Louis Blues, and MLS's St. Louis City SC — to partner with online sportsbooks, as is the case in most states that have legalized sports betting in the past few years.
Missouri bent on ending tax dollars flowing to neighbors
Missouri legislators have been complaining loud and hard over the past year about how the state is losing millions in tax dollars from out-of-state wagering activity. Christofanelli's outrage over the lost revenue is shared by Dan Houx, his fellow House Republican colleague and author of the rival bill HB 556.
"With geofencing today, we can see people crossing the Missouri River and the Mississippi River in St. Louis at a red light, it turns green, they turn around at the next exit and drive home," said Houx.
Approximately 16,000 attempts by Missouri residents within state lines were blocked from betting with Kansas sportsbooks when the state went live in September. Passage of either the Christofanelli or Houx bill, or some compromise version of the two, would enable Missouri to catch up with its rival.
Houx's original House bill ran into opposition over his proposed 8% tax rate, which was deemed too low by many legislators. His new bill raises the rate to 10%.
"You know, last year we came really close, came down to the wire," said Rep. Houx on Tuesday after filing his alternative HB 556. "It came down to the amount of fees that casinos/sports teams would pay to be able to operate sports gambling, and where that money went."
VLT regulation could derail legislation... again
Both the Christofanelli and Houx House bills have deliberately avoided any attempt to regulate VLTs, which is regarded as the key stumbling block to the passage of sports betting legislation.
In 2022, the SB1 sports betting bill sponsored by State Senator Danny Hoskins died in the Missouri Senate on the final day of last year’s legislative session in May.
The Senate bill failed in its attempt to regulate both sports betting and VLTs. Missouri's 13 casinos have lobbied hard to prevent legalization or regulation of the thousands of currently unlicensed betting terminals, which are found at fraternal organizations, veterans’ organizations, and truck stops.
In addition, most of the major sportsbooks also lobbied state legislators to prevent any attempt to include VLT regulation as part of the effort to legalize sports betting.
These gray market VLTs siphon millions of dollars from casinos, and the retail outlets are loathing to see any attempt to bring them into the legally regulated gaming market. Out-of-state sportsbooks are also keenly aware that VLTs are such a divisive issue that some legislators will refuse to approve any bill that combines sports wagering and VLT regulation.
But now, Sen. Hoskins has pre-filed new legislation in the Missouri Senate — also titled Senate Bill 1 — which would again attempt to legalize both sports betting and VLTs.
