MARCH 6 12, 2023 34 · SBJ.NET FROM THE COVER U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal law that barred gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. Six of Missouri’s border states have operational sportsbooks, including Kansas, which legalized the issue last year. HB 556 would allow anyone ages 21 or older to place wagers on sporting events. People could do so at one of the state’s 13 casinos or by downloading a sports wagering app to their phone or computer and place bets from anywhere within the state. Each casino would be allowed to run a retail sportsbook and as many as three online platforms, also known as “skins.” Additionally, each professional sports stadium would be allowed to open a brick-andmortar sportsbook and partner with one online platform, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. State fiscal analysis of the bills projects sports betting would generate $6.6 million to $22.4 million in state tax revenue in the first fiscal year it is legal. That would expand up to $29.3 million a year in new tax revenue once the market matures in roughly four years. Money would go toward the state’s education fund, while regulatory duties for sports betting would fall under the purview of the Missouri Gaming Commission. “What we’re legalizing is the ability for casinos to engage in these types of wagers,” Christofanelli said, adding casino gambling is a highly regulated industry. “They can partner with brands that can do the apps, but the sportsbook will be run by a licensed and regulated casino.” Finding favor State Rep. Bishop Davidson, R-Republic, is a member of the House’s emerging issues committee that voted in favor of the bills. “I’m typically more of a free market guy. There’s a lot of things that I’m not involved in personally that I’m not terribly interested in regulating from a state perspective, on the one hand,” Davidson said, adding he isn’t a gambler. “On the other hand, there’s an opportunity to generate some revenue. We already allow gambling in certain instances throughout the state.” Statewide trade organization the Missouri Gaming Association said in a statement it supports passage of HB 556. “This bill authorizes sports betting without lumping in other controversial legislative proposals, which would prevent the bill from passing yet another session,” the statement reads. “We believe that Missourians are ready to join our nation’s capital and the 36 states that have passed sports betting and kept tax dollars in their state.” Another sports betting bill, Senate Bill 30, sponsored by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, also was passed Feb. 23 by the Senate’s appropriations committee. However, the Senate committee did not advance Senate Bill 1, which sought to allow legal sports betting but also included a proposal to let the state lottery commission implement a video lottery terminal system in the state. Brick-and-mortar gaming facilities oppose the VLT system, o cials say. Debate in the Senate stalled last year involving a sports betting bill that included VLTs. Sports betting supporters such as Christofanelli believe VLTs should be a separate legislative issue. Davidson said he believes the fate of sports betting’s success this session could be tied to keeping VLTs out of the debate. Market activity Over Super Bowl weekend, Canadian-based GeoComply, which provides geofencing services for anti-fraud solutions in industries such as gambling, said it recorded 2.2 million legal sports betting geolocation transactions in Kansas. However, in Missouri, where the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs call home, state residents attempted to access legal sportsbooks in other states roughly 250,000 times and were blocked from betting. Davidson said as he heard testimony during the committee hearing last month, the general perspective was there are a lot of Missourians engaging in sports betting. “They either are doing so illegally or are crossing state lines. For those who live near the border, they’ll just cross over into Kansas or Illinois to do their sports betting,” he said. Christofanelli said the illegal activity also leaves Missouri out of gaming revenue that otherwise would benefit education in the state. According to data from the American Gaming Association, commercial gaming revenue – encompassing traditional casino games, sports betting and internet gaming – reached over $60.4 billion in 2022, up nearly 14% over 2021 and 38% higher than 2019. Of that total, sports betting brought in $7.5 billion, an increase of 73% from a year prior. Americans wagered $93.2 billion Bet: 33 states, 6 bordering Missouri, have operational sportsbooks Continued from page 1 Proud Employees providing Quality Care Home Health • Hospice • Private Duty Care • Private Duty Nursing Department of Mental Health • In-Home Medicaid •Consumer Directed Services Comprehensive Disease Management At Phoenix we take pride in hiring the best caregivers and clinicians to provide you and your family with the best care right in the comfort of your home. 1839 E Independence Ave, Suite K, Springfield, MO 65804 417-881-7442 www.phoenixhomehc.com We allow you to focus on what you do best – running your business! • Business and individual tax preparation & consulting • Monthly accounting, bookkeeping & financial statements • Audit services for small business, nonprofit and low income housing • Real estate development and tax credit expertise 909 East Republic Rd., Suite F-200 Springfield MO 65807 (417) 408-8822 | info@smb-cpas.com Pictured L-R: Chris Myers, Partner, Matthew Blackwell, Partner, and Jacob Sanders, Managing Partner. Expertise you can trust. Bishop Davidson sees sports betting as a state revenue generator. Bryan Bevel: People already are betting on sports in Missouri.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTU2Njc4