Missouri sports betting bills have already been filed before the 2020 legislative session. The bills are expected to take care of the payment of royalties to the professional leagues. According to Casino.org, no other state has passed the sharing of revenue between the gaming operators and the leagues nor has a similar proposal has been taken into consideration in the six states considering signing the sports betting bill into law.
Though the fee is a tiny percentage of gross gaming revenue, it seems Missouri wants to do the leagues a favor by including them in their sports betting bill. The royalty fee has been slammed by sports betting analysts who believe it’s unachievable due to thin margin of gambling activities and the distribution of leagues, which would make operators’ ability to make profit almost impossible.
State Senator Denny Hoskins introduced Missouri sports betting bills SB567. The bills will require that:
- The state’s 14 riverboat casinos to apply for the license at the cost of $25,000
- Partner with interactive online sportsbook for an additional fee of $25,000
- The operators to pay 9 percent of gross gaming revenue to the state
- Operators to pay to pro leagues 0.25 percent royalty for every $100 that will go directly to the league that a bet is placed on
State Senator Tony Luetkemeyer authored SB 754 which requires that:
- Lowers the riverboats license fee to $10,000
- Mobile operators to also pay $10,000 licensing fee
- The gross gaming revenue to be taxed a 6.25 percent and,
- The royalty fee for the pro leagues to be 0.75 percent
In 2018, a study carried out by Oxford Economics found that the league fee had a significant impact on effective taxing rates. This is because the leagues’ cost is calculated on a bet, instead of the real amount the sportsbook get after deducting all winning bets.
In 2018, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on sports betting and allowed individuals states to decide whether to legalize it or not. The four major leagues fought for the integrity fee to be implemented following the decision. However, studies have indicated that legal sportsbooks can’t compete favorably against offshore platforms if the royalty fee is enacted.
