A Missouri state senator has introduced a bill that would legalize sports betting in the state.
Senate Bill 44, pre-filed for the 2019 regular session by Senator Denny Hoskins, will modify existing state legislation on gambling to include sports wagering.
Previous drafts similar to the bill had not advanced in the state legislature, but this was before the U.S. Supreme Court decision that lifted a federal ban on sports betting last May.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hoskins had estimated legal sports betting to bring in $18 million to $40 million in revenue for the state.
Under the proposed legislation, regulated sports betting will be limited to “excursion gambling boats.” Aside from in-person betting at the licensed facility, bets could also be placed online through an interactive platform, but this requires prior in-person account activation by the bettor.
A 12% tax will be imposed on adjusted gross receipts received from wagers on sports events. An additional 2% will be collected as administrative fee, to be transferred to the Veterans’ Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund.
Another 0.5% on the gross amount wagered will be collected every quarter, for an Entertainment Facilities Infrastructure Fund, to be used for building public convention centers, multipurpose sports and entertainment venues, and the like.
Licenses will be issued to sports betting operators, who must pay a $10,000 application fee, apart from a $5,000 annual license renewal fee.
The bill also provides for the Missouri Gaming Commission to promulgate rules for advertisements, which will be required to “disclose the identity of the operator, provide information about resources relating to gambling addiction, [not be] false, misleading, or deceptive, and do not target minors or other ineligible individuals,” according to the bill’s summary.
Operators are also required to conduct background checks on employees, and to maintain security of data collected during operations. They must also maintain records of all bets placed, including identification of the bettor and the amount wagered.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that Governor Mike Parson would not be actively pushing for the passage of the legislation, but would not thwart it either. However, a spokesman for Parson said that the governor preferred betting proceeds to go to an education fund, like how lottery proceeds are spent.
