Missouri Sports Betting: Attempts to Legalize Wagering Hits Snag

Missouri Sports Betting: Attempts to Legalize Wagering Hits Snag

House Bill 2752 did not have enough time to make it through the complete legislative process in Missouri, so the state’s attempt to adopt legislation regulating sports betting was unsuccessful. 

Since the legislative session has now come to an end, there is no longer any prospect that the state will be able to enact a sports betting bill. This would have given the state the opportunity to work on a framework for the introduction of betting prior to the start of the NFL season.

Two Sports Betting Bills in Missouri 2020 Legislative Session

Not Enough Time

The passage of House Bill 2752 was successful. Representative Dave Griffith, who served as the bill’s sponsor and was responsible for its introduction on February 23rd, was in favor of it. 

It gained traction and was forwarded onto the Special Committee on Public Policy on May 13, which set back its prospects of gaining adequate traction and prevented it from gaining momentum earlier. On the other hand, there was no committee hearing, which prevented the measure from making any further progress and caused it to become stalled. 

The purpose of the bill was to make changes to the laws that were already in place and to get rid of the laws that specifically forbade gaming. The law proposed a table income tax of 21 percent on the earnings from sports betting as well as an application charge of fifty thousand dollars. 

For license renewal, interactive licensees would have been required to pay a cost of $20,000. During the course of the parliamentary session, House Bill 2752 was not the only proposal to explore the possibility of legalizing sports betting in the state. 

If the state of Missouri wants to approve a new bill, it will have to do so in the subsequent legislative session. It’s possible that legislators will be more prepared this time around.

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Missouri losing competitors 

 

At the moment, the state does not have any licensed sportsbooks, which means that neighboring states and the segment of the gambling industry that is illegal will undoubtedly be the largest winners at the expense of the public purse. Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, and Arkansas are some of the neighboring states near Missouri that have already legalized sports betting, and Missouri is one of those states. With Governor Laura Kelly’s signature on the bill that would eventually lead to the legalization of gambling on sporting events in Kansas, the state has already taken a significant step forward.

About Lou De Aguila

Lou Aguila is a news and feature writer for Golden Casino News. For over a decade, Lou has published news and featured articles for some of the most reputable sports betting and online casino sites in the world, including BetNow.UK, VegasOdds, and BWin. Apart from being a hardcore live casino punter, he also covers sports stories in North American leagues from time to time.