MO Lawmakers Pre-file Sports Betting Legislation, Project $400M Annual in Taxes

• Wed, Missouri Legislators Pre-Filed Legislation Supporting Legal Sports Betting
• Industry Experts Project $400M Annual in Tax Revenues Earmarked for Education, Vets
• Lawmakers Can Introduce Legislation thru Start of 2022 Legislative Session on Jan. 5

Wed, Missouri Legislators Pre-Filed Legislation Supporting Legal Sports Betting

It’s apparently too much potential revenue for Missouri lawmakers to ignore anymore, as now some are making an early push to legislate their state’s own lucrative legal sports betting market similar to the one’s that now exist in well over half the states in the US.

On Wednesday, some Missouri lawmakers pre-filed legislation that would support legal sports betting for its residents, an attempt to get the inevitable debate started early before the state’s next legislative session begins at that start of next year.

It’s an unfolding story we have previously covered, and Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Jefferson County) thinks state residents are counting on Missouri lawmakers to get this done, telling the media:

We need to do something. People in Missouri want to be able to bet on sports.

Republican Senator Denny Hoskins agrees, though he admits that creating a sports betting market is not as easy as it sounds, saying:

I wish it was as simple as ‘hey you want to bet on sports then you just bet on sports. Obviously when you look at the big picture that’s what we’re trying to do, but a lot of the devil is in the details.

Given the amount of money involved here, however, those details seem worth sorting out.

Industry Experts Project $400M Annual in Tax Revenues Earmarked for Education, Vets

Regardless of the roadblocks that exist between now and a legal sports betting launch, lawmakers cannot deny that the amount of potential revenue that is at stake here is head-turning and could make a huge difference for many Missouri residents.

According to Rep. Shaul:

The state of Missouri got $790 million from the NFL last week. Do you realize that we could be making on the (video lottery terminals) and the sports gaming, we could bring in $400 million per year on taxes.

The Missouri Constitution states that any gambling or gaming money must go towards education or veterans’ homes, but the reality is that this money is already being spent by Missouri gamblers elsewhere.

It makes better sense to regulate and tax this existing semi-illicit market that currently funnels out those huge profits to offshore sportsbooks and neighboring states where sports gambling is already legal.

Thus the pre-filed legislation, which is the first step in facing this existing reality, as Rep. Shaul told the press:

Right now we are the wild, wild west and people are doing their own thing. It’s time that we as legislators need to step up and do something.

But that can’t happen until the start of next year.

Lawmakers Can Introduce Legislation thru Start of 2022 Legislative Session on Jan. 5

Lawmakers had up until Dec. 1 to pre-file their bills to get them in the system to be considered for the next legislative session which starts on January 5, 2022.

Given that pro teams like the Blues, Cardinals, Royals and St. Louis City Soccer Club have already supported several ballot initiatives, it should be a matter of when, not if, legal sports betting will launch in the Show-Me State.

Keep checking back for the latest news and updates on this ongoing story.