- The Missouri House advances a sports betting bill with royalty for professional sports leagues.
- The House voted on an amended HB 119.
- The Royalty would give sports leagues 0.25% of the betting handle on sports leagues games.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The term integrity fee, coined by Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, was used for said sports leagues to get a cut of sportsbooks revenue from betting on their players and teams. In Missouri, the legislature is now moving forward on that but under a new name and new conditions.
HB 119 deals with the legalization of sports wagering in Missouri as well as a sports betting royalty for certain professional sporting leagues. The bill was voted a “Do Pass” in the House on April 15th of this year. The vote was 7-3.
Integrity fees, something certain professional sports leagues desired, and still desire, would allow them to receive a portion of the sportsbooks gambling revenue that uses their sports team or players. HB 119 will allow this to happen, but the name will be called a royalty fee instead of an integrity fee. The royalty fee would give the MLB, NBA, whatever professional sports league that decides to opt in a .25% share of the betting handle in relation to the sports league’s games.
For months, leagues have been vying for payment from sportsbooks in their state that benefit off of their teams, players, and coaches game performance. Royalty payments from Missouri will benefit the leagues in some way, though it is not yet determined all that the professional sports leagues will do with the money.
HB 119 has yet to be passed into law though. The bill has only passed the House, but for now, it is moving along well in the legislature. While the bill passing through the House is a good sign for sports leagues, there are still some disagreements in the legislature on more specific matters dealing with the bill.
The bill, which includes the royalty paid to professional sports leagues, also includes money for the league's stadium and maintenance project which would inflate the total compensation for sports leagues. The bill mentions a .6% entry and facilities infrastructure fee.
“Just so that everyone understands, the tax assessment here…between the royalty and the stadium fee, 0.85% would translate to a 17% percent tax rate,” said Representative John Carpenter.
“I’m willing to support a compromise but this compromise has a 17% tax rate that isn’t going to the state.”
While some political figures disagree with the amended bill that was passed through the House, Indiana as a whole and prospective sports teams may see benefits from this bill if sports betting in Missouri is passed into law.