JEFFERSON CITY — Legalized sports betting could generate more than $15 million in tax revenue for Missouri, according to a new legislative analysis.
Under a proposal that will be discussed in a House committee Tuesday, the analysis of House Bill 1666 shows potential income that would go toward schools in the state ranging from $7.8 million to $15.3 million.
The estimates are based on the tax rate in legislation filed by Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, who is among a handful of lawmakers sponsoring an expansion of gambling in the Legislature this year.
The House Committee on Public Policy is scheduled to hear three sports wagering bills Tuesday as part of a renewed effort to bring betting to Missouri.
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In January, Missouri’s professional sports teams and representatives of its gambling casinos announced they had reached an agreement to lobby together to have the state join 32 others that have legalized wagering on competitive events.
The effort has been stalled in the Legislature over disagreements on how to rid the state of unregulated, illegal slot machines that have flooded gas stations, truck stops and bars in recent years.
Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, has previously tied the two issues together in one piece of legislation. He said Thursday that he still wants to tackle both, but envisions them being handled as separate bills.
Until a 2018 court case, full-scale sports betting was illegal in all states except Nevada. Some states moved quickly to get sports betting and its tax proceeds on the books.
More than 20 bills that include some form of sports betting have been filed in Missouri since 2019, but none of them has crossed the finish line.
At least five bills have been introduced in the Legislature this year that could provide a framework for allowing Missourians to place bets on Cardinals games, Blues hockey games, Kansas City Chiefs football games, Kansas City Royals baseball games, the St. Louis City soccer team and the Kansas City Current women’s soccer team.
Hoskins said the bills under consideration remain works in progress.
For example, he wants to see a prohibition barring betting on high school sports. And, he said, people should be able to bet on college games too.
“College sports aren’t in there,” Hoskins said.
He also wants to ban so-called “prop bets,” in which people can wager on in-game events, such as which football quarterback throws the first interception or how many strikeouts a pitcher throws in a baseball game.
The tax rate outlined in the legislation also is too low, he said.
Under his plan, he would tax casinos at a 21% rate, while Christofanelli’s package is at 6.75%. Other versions set the rate at 10%.
“There are a lot of things that are not included in the bare-bones sports book bills,” Hoskins said.
Christofanelli said he is open to discussing potential changes.
“I’m not married to the tax rate,” Christofanelli said. “It’s really hard to predict exactly what it will generate.”
He also is against allowing betting on high school sports.
“I wouldn’t want to see that,” Christofanelli said.
While estimates put Missouri’s take at $15.3 million annually, New Jersey brought in $49.4 million in new tax revenue last year. In Pennsylvania, the state collected $38.7 million in fiscal year 2020.
“My guiding star is to make sure Missouri is competitive with other surrounding states,” Christofanelli said.
Among those expected to testify is John Pappas, executive director of the iDevelopment and Economic Association, a nonprofit association representing sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings.
The group wants Missouri to keep sports betting regulations to a minimum in order to reflect what Pappas said is a rapidly changing landscape.
For example, the group is opposed to requiring bettors to register at a casino before being able to begin wagering on their phones.
“We don’t want the legislation to tie the hands of the regulators,” Pappas said.
As an example that there is demand for sports betting in Missouri, the group cited data from GeoComply, which found over Super Bowl weekend, 69,372 attempts were made by Missourians to access betting options in other states, primarily Illinois.
Those requests were blocked.
“Every year that Missouri is waiting is another day that consumers are left unprotected and money is left on the table,” Pappas said. “It just doesn’t make sense to be on an island when literally every state surrounding them is going to have legal sports betting.”
