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MLB: Missourians expected to wager $5.5 billion on sports, if it’s legalized

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A representative from Major League Baseball (MLB) predicts Missourians will spend billions of dollars annually to bet on sports, if it’s legalized.

Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming Chairman Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, speaks during a hearing on August 22, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Jeremy Kudon traveled to Jefferson City to testify Thursday before the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming.

“According to the AGA’s Oxford report, Missouri bettors are expected to wager over $5.5 billion on sports, that’s about where New Jersey is right now,” Kudon testifies.

The AGA is the American Gaming Association. Kudon predicts casino operators would make about $376 million a year from that, and that Missouri would receive approximately $37 million annually in taxes.

Kudon also expresses some concerns, noting that MLB opposes allowing betting on spring training games.

“Where the Cardinals may have a plan for (pitcher) Adam Wainwright to throw curve balls the entire first inning, that’s a real-life thing,” Kudon tells lawmakers.

Kudon says he wants to see a bill that creates the best possible legal sports betting framework for Missouri. Kudon also represents the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the PGA Golf Tour.

The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” has reported that at least 18 other states and the District of Columbia allow residents 21 and older to bet on collegiate and professional sports.

State Reps. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, and Cody Smith, R-Carthage, filed sports wagering bills in 2019, but the bills died because of a lack of consensus in the Legislature. Ross, who serves on the interim committee, tells Missourinet he plans to file a similar but improved bill for 2020.

The National Football League (NFL) Players Association and the National Hockey League (NHL) Players Association also testified before the committee on Thursday.

The NFL Players Association is calling on Missouri to establish a hotline for players to call, if the state legalizes sports wagering. Players Association counsel Joe Briggs expressed some security concerns for players, during his testimony.

“So if I’m sitting at home and someone tries to drop a bag of cash on my doorstep to try to make sure that I play a certain way or not next week, who do I pick up the phone and call.” Briggs testified.

Briggs tells state lawmakers the hotline could be run by Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol or the Gaming Commission.

While the bulk of Thursday’s hearing involved sports wagering, the committee also heard some testimony about alleged illegal slot machines. That’s been a major issue at previous hearings.

Committee Chairman Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, tells Missourinet the committee plans to submit a report to House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, by December 1.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Wainwright throws simulated game with an eye on postseason. “It’s a step in the right direction.” (AUDIO)

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Adam Wainwright throws a simulated game on Wednesday.

Adam Wainwright throws a simulated game on Wednesday.

Adam Wainwright, less than five months after undergoing surgery for a torn Achilles’ tendon that was expected to sideline him for 9-12 months, moved closer to a return after throwing a 25-pitch simulated game against Randal Grichuk, Matt Adams, Pete Kozma and Jon Jay.

“To be honest, I couldn’t have been any happier,” manager Mike Matheny said afterwards. “What we have to do is also be realistic that that doesn’t translate into an inning tonight. What it means is he got one step closer to being ready to get out there and hopefully have a little bit more movement on the mound and that will put him one step closer to being out here for real. No sense in not being excited about a guy coming back when nobody thought he would.”

Results were secondary, as Adams crushed a towering homer off Wainwright in his one inning.  The next step is to get Wainwright back in a simulated game and activate him on the roster for a couple of appearances next week.  That will help determine his use on the playoff roster.

Following his simulated game, Wainwright spoke.