Missouri inches closer to legalizing sports betting

The Missouri House and Senate committees have advanced three bills seeking to legalize sports betting in the Show-Me State.

On Thursday, Senator Tony Luetykemeyer’s SB30 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee, while Assemblyman Phil Christofanelli’s HB581 and Dan Houx’s HB556 also passed the House Emerging Issues Committee.

The bills are similar in language and would allow for physical sportsbooks as well as mobile betting in Missouri while allowing for sports teams to have an exclusion zone around their venues.

The three documents are unanimous in proposing a 10% tax on gaming income, a rate that mirrors neighboring Kansas’ sport betting legislation.

“There is urgency to get sports betting legalized this session,” Mr Christofanelli told KCRG.

“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 neighboring states who have already taken action to provide a legal avenue for sports betting.”

Missouri generated $358.5 million from its 13 riverboat casinos in 2021, with a majority of that money funding public education in the state.




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