Sports betting one step closer to becoming law in Missouri

MISSOURI (KCTV) - Legalized sports betting moved one step closer to reality in Missouri today when a pair of bills cleared their first hurdle.

One of the bills was sponsored by a local state representative.

KCTV5′s Mark Poulose caught up with him, as well as another state representative, to talk about what went on in Jefferson City on Thursday.

Get the full story with the latest updates via the video above.

Previous coverage is below.

Supporters of sports betting bills -- including representatives from all six professional sports teams in the state -- came to Jefferson City this week on a mission: Get them passed for business and for fans.

Senate Bill 30, sponsored by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville), allows wagering on sports events, including e-sports. Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg) is sponsoring a legalization proposal as well under House Bill 556. Both bills impose a 10 percent tax rate on sports bets---the same as Kansas.

Supporters said Missourians are already taking part in online sports betting, as residents cross state lines to Illinois or Kansas to place a bet on their home-state teams. GeoComply reports 8.7 million sports bet attempts in Missouri have been blocked since September when the NFL season began.

Representatives from the Chiefs, Royals, KC Current, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC and the Cardinals showed support at a hearing at the Capitol on Wednesday. Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said they are learning from other states who already have these measures in place.

“We’ve learned how to tweak this to make this more reflective of the market that’s out there, and I believe that the tweaks to this bill do that. So we’re very supportive,” DeWitt said.

The revenue generated would go towards Missouri’s Education Fund, with the Missouri Gaming Commission overseeing it. A provision of the bill puts $500,000 annually into the Compulsive Gamblers Fund.

SB 30 allows the 13 riverboat casinos in Missouri to designate areas for retail sports books, and grants three mobile “skins,” which is the branded website or mobile app riverboat patrons would use. Each of the six professional sports teams would get one mobile skin.

A House Emerging Issues Committee hearing starts Thursday at 10:30 a.m., where we could see a vote on the matter to continue moving sports betting forward in the statehouse.

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