Missouri Senate looks at sports gambling bill

(Missourinet) Expect debate in the Missouri Senate this week on a bill that would legalize sports gambling.

Sponsor Denny Hoskins says his measure would charge casinos a nine percent tax on sportsbooks. That’s more than what they pay in Nevada, but way less than elsewhere.

“In some other states that have passed a sports book, [the taxes] range anywhere all the way up to over 20 percent, so we thought nine percent was a good compromise.”

Casinos would pay a .25 percent royalty fee to the leagues that gamblers bet on. They’d also pay a .25 percent fee into a capital improvement fund for work in and around Missouri sports stadiums.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year opened the door to states that wanted to legalize sports gambling.