Nineteen states, and the District of Columbia (D.C.), have either launched legal sports gambling or are in the process of rolling out the activity. Out of all of those jurisdictions, despite efforts on the part of sports leagues, not one has agreed that pro sports deserve the integrity fee the leagues have said they need to keep games honest. Missouri appears to be the exception and lawmakers in the Show-Me State are hearing the ridiculous cries of “show me the money.”

Missouri lawmakers are looking at two different sports gambling bills, both of which have been pre-filed ahead of the upcoming 2020 legislative session. Both include language that would give the leagues a piece of each bet placed, a move that all other states have already realized is misguided and unfounded.

Senate Bill 567 (SB 567) was put together by Senator Denny Hoskins and gives authorization to the state’s riverboat casinos to apply for a license to operate a sportsbook. Each license would cost $25,000 and the 14 properties would also be able to team up with an online sportsbook for another $25,000. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) would be taxed at 9%, and $0.25 of every $100 spent on sports wagers would go to the respective league.

Senate Bill 754 (SB 754) is the brainchild of Senator Tony Luetkemeyer and would also give the riverboats a chance to apply for a sports gambling license. However, the retail license and the online operations license would only set the properties back $10,000 each, not $25,000 like with SB 567. The state would take a 6.25% cut of the GGR by way of taxes and, while the operators may like the initial specifications of the bill, the fact that SB 754 wants to give leagues a royalty of 0.75% might sour their enthusiasm.