Missouri legislators to discuss sports betting Monday

MISSOURI (KCTV) - A Missouri lawmaker is looking to play catch-up with Kansas on sports betting.

Kansas is the 31st state to have active, legal sports betting, recently joining nearby states Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee.

Further discussion on sports betting in Missouri is set to happen Monday afternoon following Republican State Rep. Dan Houx introducing the House bill last week.

This discussion comes after the mapping tool “GeoComply” found more than 100,000 attempts to bet from within Missouri as of Thursday afternoon. The Kansas Lottery reports from Sept. 1 (the first day Kansas allowed sports betting) to Sept. 11, more than 2.4 million bets were placed in Kansas, cashing out more than $47 million in winnings.

The bill would repeal three sections of the anti-sports wagering legislature and enact seventeen new sections relating to sports wagering.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has tweeted multiple times since legalized sports betting came to Kansas, urging government officials to support legalized sports wagering in Missouri.

KMOV spoke with Missouri Gaming Commission Chairman Mike Leara about the possibility of this bill going through.

“In the event, this comes, we are 60 to 90 days away from implementing the entire process,” he said. “I would anticipate that the bill passes the House. However, I don’t envision it coming out of the Senate.”

The Kansas City Chiefs have already partnered with BetMGM, and signage will soon be all around GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in the near future despite it still being illegal in Missouri. There will be no booths or vendors unless the law changes, but the advertising with be present.