House Approves Sports Betting Bill by Strong Margin

By Matt Speakman,
Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

Matt Speakman Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

A die-hard fan of the Patriots, Matt Speakman is an expert on everything related to sports betting and DFS sites. Over the years, he has proven a valuable asset for our team at online-gambling.com. You can find Speakman's professional tips and tricks in any of his many articles on the website.

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Last updated: April 5, 2023

Legislation authorizing Missouri sports betting advances in the House, but faces uncertain odds in the Senate. These days, the Missouri House of Representatives advanced sports betting legislation significantly. Representative Dan Houx of Warrensburg sponsored House Bill 556 in January. It has a bipartisan group of supporters, including three Republicans and two Democrats. The bill suggests allowing sports betting to be offered both offline and online at Missouri’s 13 riverboat casinos.

The Missouri House Emerging Issues and Legislative Oversight Rules committees approved the bill prior to a full floor vote a few days ago. It passed with a commanding 118-35 margin. It is now sent to the Senate, where it waits for a committee assignment, although the odds are dubious.

Since the US Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on single-game wagering in May 2018, Missouri’s General Assembly lawmakers have been attempting to adopt a sports betting bill. This ruling gave the states the authority to decide whether or not this type of gambling is legal.

Challenges in the Senate: Opposition and Filibuster

Despite being so close to becoming legal, Missouri sports betting has been stalled by a filibuster by Warrensburg-based State Senator Denny Hoskins. Last year, after the House passed a sports betting bill, Hoskins blocked it in the Senate with a filibuster. He said that any expansion of gambling in the Show-Me State must include making skill gaming machines legal. These contentious slot-like gaming machines are frequently seen at taverns and restaurants. Nothing is guaranteed, but Hoskins has dropped hints that he might not be as obstructionist this year. Congressman Houx, however, thinks that Missouri has to allow sports betting in order to prevent money from leaving the state and going to neighboring states that already have sports gambling laws in place.

Houx stressed that the state is losing out on residual tax money in an interview with KWOS News Radio. Missouri loses money when tourists travel to Kansas, Illinois, or Iowa and spend their money there. Several states that permit sports betting share borders with this one, including Nebraska to the west and Arkansas to the south. In fact, GeoComply, a business-to-business iGaming company, revealed that it had blocked more than a quarter of a million access attempts from persons in Missouri during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory last month. Casinos would have to pay the state a one-time licensing fee of $100,000 if Houx’s HB556 is passed into law in order to be allowed to run a retail sportsbook. Permits for physical sportsbooks would need to be renewed annually for a fee of $50,000.

Impact of Legalizing Sports Betting on Missouri Economy

Each casino would be able to connect to up to three different online sportsbook platforms in order to offer sports betting. The initial licensing price for interactive sportsbooks would be $150,000, and the annual renewal charge would be $125,000. The proposed law would put a 10% general tax on sports betting earnings. At least $500,000 a year would go to the state’s Compulsive Gamblers Fund from the tax money. In Missouri, the general public has a split opinion on sports betting. Just 35% of Missourians, according to a poll taken earlier this month by Saint Louis University and the polling company YouGov, think the state should legalize sports betting.