Support for Special Interests Kills Sports Betting Bill in Missouri

After passing the House and a Senate committee by a vote of 11-1, it looked like Missouri's sports betting legislation had a good chance to become law. After six years of working toward this end, the excitement Missouri residents were feeling was palpable. Unfortunately, said legislation failed due to the two State Senators preferring to show their support for personal special interests.

The first sign of trouble for the House's sports betting legislation came with the Senate's reluctance to even consider the bill until the last two days of the current legislative session. After Senator Tony Luetkemeyer attached a companion bill to the House's legislation, it was a no-go at the hands of Senator Dennis Hoskins who ended up filibustering Luetkemeyer's bill.

In the eyes of many people within the sports betting community, Hoskins bears sole responsibility for killing any possibility of Missouri residents being able to legally wager on sports without having to drive to another state. Here is what Penn Entertainment VP of Public Affairs Jeff Morris shared with PlayUSA reporters:

"I think we’ve reached the point now that one senator halted sports betting in Missouri and that’s Denny Hoskins. Everybody is on board except one guy.”

According to Hoskins, he has no desire to support sports betting legislation unless Video Lottery Terminal legislation is included. The House's sports betting legislation is a stand-alone bill.

Property Tax Legislation Also Standing in the Way

While Hoskins' unwillingness to support sports betting legislation creates a significant obstacle for any future sports betting consideration, he is not alone in his opposition. It looks like Senator Bill Eigel also has other legislative priorities.

With an eye on possibly running for Governor of Missouri in 2024, Sen. Eigel is pushing for property tax legislation that would lower property taxes for residents across the state. When he made a motion to present his bill, SB 8, he was shot down by Senate Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin. Instead, she called for consideration of SB 92, Hoskins' property tax bill with sports betting legislation from House Rep Dan Houx attached. That infuriated both Eigel and Hoskins.

Sen. Eigel responded by filibustering all legislation that was presented in the last two days of the legislative session. He told reporters:

"I guarantee you there are going to be a lot of folks on Dec. 1 wanting to know why they didn’t get any relief on personal property taxes. And the answer is because powerful special interests were so concerned about moving something like sports betting in this state that we couldn’t move on to the actual important policies like cutting personal property taxes."

Majority Leader O'Laughlin responded by calling Eigel's response nothing more than "political theater."

What Now?

It's clear that without interference from Hoskins and perhaps Eigel, Missouri residents would likely be betting on sports from their living rooms within the next six (6) months.

Moving forward, it looks like everything is stale-mated until the VLT issue is resolved. It won't be this year, so residents will have to keep waiting a bit longer.