On Wednesday, six Missouri professional sports teams and existing casino operators in the state agreed to support sports betting legislation. If the proposed bill is approved, it would allow mobile betting tied to existing gaming venues within the state.
It is the first agreement of its kind in the US, where operators and franchises work together to push for a sports betting bill.
As reported by the New Jersey Daily Press, the MLB St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals, NHL St. Louis Blues, MLS St. Louis City Soccer Club, NFL Kansas City Chiefs, and National Women’s Soccer League Kansas City Current would each be eligible for a skin or mobile platform under the agreement, but no retail location.
Casino operators would be entitled to three skins or digital platforms per retail property, with a cap of six skins. Penn National Gaming (Barstool Sportsbook) and Caesars each own three properties and under the agreement they would each receive six skins. Boyd Gaming (FanDuel), Century Casinos, and Affinity Gaming each have two retail properties and Bally’s has one. Six more skins would be provided for the sports teams.
The proposal sets the tax rate at 10% and would include an official league data mandate.
Missouri lawmakers have tried to legalize sports betting since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, 20 bills have fallen through in the last years. However, they are currently making a push to legalize sports betting, in an effort to keep money currently going to other states or illegal gambling in the state.
Senate Bill 764, introduced by Luetkemeyer, seeks to allow sports betting in casino boats and online across the state with geofencing.
Missouri Senator Denny Hoskins.
Additionally, Sen. Denny Hoskins is also seeking to legalize both in-person and online wagering through a bill, which taxes casinos offering sports gaming at 21%. Furthermore, Hoskins is also sponsoring legislation that would allow an expansion of lottery operations, seeking to authorize video lottery terminals in new locations and pull-tab games in all lottery retail sites. Both his bill to extend video lotteries and the legislation to legalize sports wagering have been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
