Missouri Senate debates sports wagering bill

The Missouri Senate spent hours debating a sports wagering bill. 

Under the legislation, the tax rate would increase from 10 to 15-percent for education. 

It would also raise the admission fee casinos pay per person from $2 to $4 with the fees going to Missouri veterans’ homes and cemeteries. 

A frustrated Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden says he’s tired of the debate…“I’d like to get to the end. I’m a little bit less concerned with what the content of the end looks like than some folks would be. I said publicly I’ll take a vote. I’ll vote affirmatively for, you know, the end result bill that has sports betting, if it has VLTs or if it doesn’t have VLTs.”

Other amendments added to the bill would require casinos to pay admission fees for people who place an online bet over a two-hour period. 

The revenue of that would also go towards Missouri’s veterans’ homes and cemeteries. 

Several other proposed amendments, which failed, could have derailed the bill’s passage, including creating a voter referendum on sports betting.