The battle to legalize sports betting in Missouri is taking on overtones of two 10-year-olds each named Dan, threatening each other.
In one corner, Senator Danny Hoskins threatens to kill any House bill because his bill didn’t make it out of committee. Rep. Dan Houx, in the other corner, expects his bill to be up for a vote this month.
Despite the situation—almost identical to the one that failed a year ago— supporters are optimistic this will be the year.
“The same dynamics as in years past still exist, but we have three months to reach an agreement or otherwise figure out a way through the Senate,” Sean Ostrow, a lobbyist with the Sports Betting Alliance, told Legal Sports Report.
Houx has the support of a coalition of Missouri teams, casino companies and sportsbooks.
Then again, the same bill made it through the House and onto the Senate last year only to see Hoskins impede progress. Meanwhile, Hoskins’ bill, which includes legalization of video lottery terminals (VLTs), did not make it out of committee.
Multiple legislators expressed a desire to separate sports betting from the VLT issue, including sports team representatives who felt the additional issue could kill the bill. Hoskins then spent an hour on the Senate floor expressing his displeasure and threatening to kill any other sports betting legislation this year.
Houx’s bill includes as many as 39 online skins and 13 in-person sportsbooks at riverboat casinos. Revenue would be taxed at 10 percent.
One industry person hints Hoskins will insert some of his language into the bill but exactly what depends on an agreement with teams, casinos and sportsbooks on the VLT issue.
