No deal on sports betting. The Missouri Legislature’s session has ended without passing a bill that would legalize sports wagering.
Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, points the finger at Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, for wanting to include the regulation of video slot machines.
“It is the responsibility of the people who want that, in this case, Senator Hoskins, to do his work and find 17 other people who believe in his position. Until that happens, he is solely responsible for why we don’t have sports betting in Missouri – no more, no less. So, either he finds more friends, or he needs to get out of the way and let Missourians do this thing that they should have been able to do four or five years ago,” said Rowden.
Lawmakers worked to try and find a compromise.
“We had a few different iterations of deals that were kind of flying around that would have given Missourians a half a million dollar in tax relief or more, a few different things that were out there, personal property, social security, a few other things, plus sports betting. That deal frankly did not happen because maybe one, or two, or three people want slot machines in gas stations. That’s it,” he said.
The millions of dollars in tax revenue from sports betting would have gone to public education and other state priorities.
More than 30 states have legalized sports betting.
St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt the Third has said he is thinking about organizing a referendum to ask Missouri voters in 2024 to back the legalization of sports betting.
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