Missouri Governor Admits Legal Sports Betting “Is Coming” via State Lawmakers

• Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Tells Media Legal Sports Betting “Is Coming” to That State
• Next State Legislative Session Convenes January 4, 2023 – Sports Betting Bill Expected
• Meanwhile Next Door: the Kansas Legal Sports Betting Market Continues to Grow

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Tells Media Legal Sports Betting “Is Coming” to That State

If launching a legal sports betting market were a foot race, Kansas would already be on its next lap while its neighbor Missouri would still be in the locker room lacing up its shoes, but according to some recent words from Missouri’s chief executive that should be changing soon.

Governor Mike Parson talked to FOX2Now in St. Louis and essentially admitted that legal sports betting in Missouri was more a matter of ‘when’ than ‘if’ and that it will be up to state lawmakers to eventually decide on how that will look for the Show Me State, saying:

We’ll see how it all plays out but [legal sports betting]’s the General Assembly’s thing. I think it’s going to be one of those things that’s coming when the day comes. The day is going to happen but that needs to go through the legislative process, and it goes in there year in and year out.

The ‘day’ the governor is referring to is whenever the first legal sports bet is placed there, an activity that has already been made legal in over thirty other U.S. states and D.C., now their right once the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018 giving each state’s voters that choice.

First, though, state lawmakers must pass a bill, which can’t happen in Missouri until at least next year.

Next State Legislative Session Convenes January 4, 2023 – Sports Betting Bill Expected

This is not a new issue to Missouri lawmakers who have already been debating whether that state’s residents would benefit from a legal sports betting market, with one representative, Dan Houx, having already tried and failed to introduce a related bill through that assembly in 2022.

Rep. Houx has told the press that the only piece of legislation he would file next year would be related to legalizing sports betting and he also indicated that the incoming Speaker of the House wants that type of legislation on the docket as well once state lawmakers reconvene.

The next state legislative session in Missouri is scheduled to begin on January 4, 2023, and only then can lawmakers restart those already heated discussions as to whether their constituents would prefer betting on sports legally or otherwise.

Until there is a bill to sign, though, Governor Parson technically has nothing to do with it, telling the press:

That decision will be mine when it hits my desk but until then, you have to let the process work out and see what happens,

However, some encouragement from the Gov. would go a long way, especially given what Kansas is up to nearby.

Meanwhile Next Door: the Kansas Legal Sports Betting Market Continues to Grow

As we have reported on in the past, Missouri’s next door neighbor Kansas has already launched their own legal sports betting market and their goal is to create an enticing enough environment to begin attracting pro sports teams to relocate there.

Given the Kansas City Chiefs will be considering a new stadium deal in the next decade, it’s a plan that makes sense, one that should frighten MO lawmakers who have already noticed that plenty of Missouri residents have been attempting to place bets using the new Kansas market.

Starting in January the race for legal sports betting is on in Missouri so keep an eye on how fast lawmakers get off the bench and into their first lap, late comers to the new event that’s already generating billions of dollars’ worth of revenue for operators and states.