Missouri to Take Another Kick at the Legal Sports Betting Can in 2024

It didn't take long for legislators in Missouri to revive their attempts to legalize sports betting in their state so that residents can take advantage of some of our best sports betting sites.

After a failed attempt in 2023, Sen. Tony Leutkemeyer and Sen. Denny Hoskins have already each introduced separate legal sports betting Bills in the Show-Me State, after 2023 attempts died in the state's Senate.

SB 852 and SB 824 signal the latest attempts by Missouri lawmakers to get Missouri on par with seven of the state's eight bordering states. Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas have some form of legal sports betting platform already in operation. Just neighboring Oklahoma is without a way for its citizens to access our best sportsbooks within its state's boundaries.

SB 852

SB 852 is the legal sports betting bill supported by Sen. Tony Leutkemeyer. It is the Missouri Senator's second kick at the can after an attempt in 2023 was unable to pass the Senate.

The Bill allows the state's robust riverboat casino industry to offer online sports betting. Each riverboat operator would have the chance to partner with up to three online providers under the Bill. The state's professional sports teams, which have signaled overwhelming support for such a platform, would also have the chance at a mobile sportsbook partnership.

Each prospective sports betting operator would pay a $100,000 registration fee, with renewal after every four years. The tax rate would be an industry-friendly 12% on gross gaming revenues.

Those 21 years of age and older would be eligible for a legal sports betting account, giving access to wagering on all of North America's major sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL.

SB 852 would prohibit wagers on high school and elementary athletics and prop bets on collegiate sports involving teams from Missouri.

SB 824

Sen. Denny Hoskins filed SB 824 as an attempt to launch not only legal mobile sports betting but also video lottery terminals in the state. 

Otherwise known as the “Honoring Missouri Veterans and Supporting Missouri Education Act,” there are a lot of similarities with SB 852. Included in the similarities is the menu of sports and the corresponding exclusions.

The differences include a slightly lower 10% tax rate and the aforementioned ties to video lottery terminals.

The chances

Legal sports betting measures in Missouri have been struck down in the past; the most recent efforts were in 2023 and 2022.

But the support for a legal Missouri sports betting platform seems to have always been there. The Missouri Pro Sports Betting Coalition, which includes the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and the St. Louis Cardinals, has been a vocal and reliable supporter of any plan to bring legal sports wagering to the state.

Four petitions have been submitted already, hoping to have the issue decided by voters on the November 2024 election ballot.

On the flip side, studies, like one by Steve Rogers, an Associate Professor of Political Science at SLU, have shown that voters may not be keen about welcoming such a platform to their state.

"We did some polling on this last year, and we only found that only about 35% of Missouri likely vote are actually in favor of betting on professional and collegiate sports in the state of Missouri," said Rogers. "Another poll done by Missouri Scout only found that about 26% of Missourians are in favor of this."

So, it is "wait and see time" for hopeful Missouri bettors and proponents of such a legal sports wagering platform. With 37 states in America, including seven that border Missouri, already accepting legal wagers and benefitting financially from the practice, there is a reasonable chance that 2024 could be a big year for those battling for legal sports wagering in the state.