There has recently been a deluge of bills that could bring legal and regulated sports betting to Missouri. No fewer than four bills advanced to the Missouri House of Representatives Emerging Issues Committee recently.
Each of the bills will be considered separately by the Committee. If they are passed they’ll shift to a floor vote before going on to the Senate.
They include:
- House Bill 1024: Introduced by Rep. Cody Smith in February this year, the bill aims to authorize sports betting in the state. It will allow online and brick-and-mortar sports betting through riverboat casinos. Sports betting will not be allowed to take place outside licensed premises. Sports betting will carry a 6.25% revenue tax. Operators need to pay a $50,000 annual fee.
- House Bill 619: Sports betting operators will need to pay a $10,000 annual fee per platform. Sports wagering revenue will generate a 6% tax rate.
- House Bill 730: A bill related to the introduction of sports betting in Missouri was first introduced by Rep. Phil Christofanelli earlier this year. It calls for a 6.75% tax rate on sports betting revenue. The bill covers online and land-based sports betting, charging operators an annual fee of $20,000 per platform.
- House Bill 1364: A bill introduced by Rep. Dan Houx which proposes that licensees are allowed up to online skins. All the other bills allow up to a single skin. It also demands that operators who receive bets of up to $10K from a player within 24 hours need to retain information about that customer for up to 3 years. The bill sets an annual license renewal fee of $20,000, and sets a tax rate of 6.75% on sports wagering revenue. The Missouri Commission will need to start accepting applications for online gambling licenses from July this year. License holders need to start operating their online gambling platform from September 2021.
