JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House gave first-round approval Monday to a plan to bring the state in line with its neighbors when it comes to legalized sports betting.
The legislation, which has the backing of the state’s major league sports teams and casinos, needs one more vote in the lower chamber before moving to the Senate, where the issue has stalled in recent years.
The preliminary vote in the House was a near repeat of last year’s attempt to allow people to wager money on athletic events.
The House acted quickly in 2022, but the measure ran aground in the Senate amid arguments over whether sports betting should be tied to the thorny issue of video gambling in gas stations and convenience stores.
People are also reading…
The time around, lawmakers are debating the matter under the cloud of two federal lawsuits that are seeking to stop a politically connected Wildwood-based company from continuing to place unregulated slot machines in businesses across the state.
The legal action focuses on Torch Electronics, which is represented in the Capitol by former House Speaker Steve Tilley, who now runs a powerful lobbying firm.
The bills endorsed Monday, which are sponsored by Rep. Dan Houx, R-Warrensburg, and Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, would impose a 10% tax rate on sports bets.
Revenue generated from betting would go to the state’s education fund. The Missouri Gaming Commission would oversee the program.
Each version would earmark at least $500,000 for compulsive gambling problems.
The plan would allow mobile betting as well as in-person betting at casinos and in locations at the professional stadiums and arenas.
Houx said he was not opposed to a higher tax rate if that’s what is needed for the measure to win Senate approval.
“We’re going to find a happy medium,†Houx said.
Some supporters said voters are eager to begin betting on sporting events after missing out on the Kansas City Chiefs’ most recent run to the Super Bowl and the current NCAA basketball tournament.
“This is something that seems so simple. Our constituents genuinely don’t understand why we haven’t gotten it across the finish line yet,†said Rep. Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City.
Christofanelli said the legislation would bring tax dollars to the state, rather than going to unregulated offshore betting companies.
“Everyone is doing this on their phones illegally in the state of Missouri right now,†Christofanelli said.
Rep. Marlene Terry, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, unsuccessfully attempted to raise the tax rate to 21% to be on par with casinos.
Similarly, Rep. Peter Merideth, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, failed in a bid to allow voters to weigh in on the proposed expansion of gambling.
The push is the latest in an ongoing effort to bring sports wagering to Missouri.
Until a 2018 court case, full-scale sports betting was illegal in all states except Nevada. Some states moved quickly to get sports betting and its tax proceeds on the books.
The slow pace in Missouri triggered the formation last year of an alliance between the state’s casinos and sports teams, including the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues and the ºüÀêÊÓƵ City soccer club.
Supporters say Missourians are taking their money and spending it in neighboring Illinois and Kansas, which allow sports betting.
Figures compiled by GeoComply, which tracks attempts to place bets based on the location of a mobile phone, found that during the most recent National Football League season, 8.7 million attempts by Missourians to place bets in other states were blocked.
Of those, 46.3% tried to access sports books in Kansas, while 39.4% of tried to place bets in Illinois.
“Quite frankly, we’re looking a little silly,†Christofanelli said.
Six of Missouri’s eight neighboring states — Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Tennessee — have legalized wagering. Kentucky lawmakers are considering a sports betting proposal.
The legislation is