The Missouri legislature is unlikely to pass legislation that would have legalized sports betting during the 2022 session.
Legislation not discussed following state casinos’ refusal to support bills
Senator Denny Hoskins, a supporter of legal sports betting in Missouri, tweeted on Thursday that lawmakers would not have an opportunity to discuss the three sports betting bills that had been introduced during the session saying:
We offered casinos 3 different bills on Sportsbook. The last offer was on 5/10/22 & all the pro sports teams (Chiefs,Royals,etc), pro player orgs (MLBPA,NFLPA), mobile platforms (Fan Duel,Draft Kings) agreed to the deal. Unfortunately, the casinos said NO & the bill died. #moleg
— Senator Denny Hoskins, CPA (@DLHoskins) May 12, 2022
Hoskins then tweeted:
“The senate bill handler (Hageman) said he would not bring up the bill unless everyone agreed to the bill. Since 2 casinos said NO DEAL, he did not bring up the bill.”
In March of this year, the Missouri House passed sports betting legislation which was then forwarded to the Senate. However, the legislation stalled as Senators and casino backers could not find common ground.
Speaking to the local press, Chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission, Mike Leara said:
“The Gaming Commission projects approximately $9 million per year in new tax revenue to the state. We expect a bill to pass this session or likely next year. Missouri will soon be surrounded by states allowing sports betting, that just may be too much for the legislature to ignore.”
The news comes as neighboring state Kansas became the latest state to legalize sports betting. This means that bordering states Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arkansas, and now Kansas have all legalized sports betting meaning that Missouri residents just need to cross the state lines to place wagers on their pro teams including the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.
With the legislative session ending today, it is now highly unlikely that any progress will be made on sports betting in Missouri.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.