Following a promising start to the 2022 session, Missouri sports betting legalization efforts will have to wait another year.
Missouri stakeholders could not come to a final agreement for MO sports betting before the session ended Friday. Sports betting legislation cleared the House before running into opposition on the Senate floor.
Sports betting was not alone, either, as the Senate was in gridlock much of the session, according to the Missouri Independent. While the effort neared the finish line this year, the future of sports betting in Missouri remains murky next year and beyond.
Three compromises in Missouri
The session started with major Missouri stakeholders on the same page, and pushing one proposal in multiple House and Senate bills. Rep. Dan Houx‘s bill picked up steam, passed the House and reached the Senate floor.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Denny Hoskins held up the bill, threatening to kill the legislation if it did not include video lottery terminals (VLT.) He eventually changed his tune on VLTs, but still hoped to raise the tax rate as lawmakers continued to negotiate the final week of the session.
Hoskins ultimately said three separate proposals were presented to the state’s professional sports teams, sportsbook operators and Missouri casinos. The casinos were not agreeable to any of the three offers, according to Hoskins.
Missouri sports betting deal that died
The casinos, sports teams and sportsbooks came together to push a deal that created 39 mobile skins. The skins would be split among the six casino operators and six professional sports teams.
Missouri casinos were also granted retail sportsbooks.
The proposal included a 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue. In Hoskins’s competing sports betting bill, he kept the tax rate at 21%, in line with other casino gaming in Missouri.
Kansas beats Missouri to start
Throughout the session, it appeared Kansas and Missouri were destined for similar fates. Proponents in both states hoped to beat their neighbor and it seemed as though if one legalized, the other would follow.
That did not hold true, however, as only Kansas crossed the finish line.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed the bill into law earlier this month. Regulators expect KS sports betting to go live this fall.
