Another sports betting bill for Missouri?

The Missouri legislature, which is already considering two bills proposing legalised intrastate sports betting contingent on a favourable US Supreme Court ruling in the New Jersey litigation against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (see previous reports) will soon have a third proposal on the agenda, according to media reports from the state.

It appears that Major League Baseball is the driving force behind a new draft bill currently being lobbied and reportedly set for introduction soon in competition with bills H 2320 and H 2406.

The MLB draft includes the now notorious 1 percent “integrity fee” on all wagers which the MLB has lobbied for in other states. This fee could make a handsome contribution to the sports governing body’s coffers, along with other provisions which the draft includes as benefits for such bodies.

These provisions include:

* Existing state operators authorised to also offer online and mobile betting facilities, subject to payment of a $10,000 application fee;

* Regulatory oversight to be the preserve of the Missouri Gaming Commission;

* Clauses governing the marketing and promotion of sports betting in the state;

* Strict responsible gambling provisions and measures to combat under-age gambling and criminal activity;

* Proposed tax rate of 21 percent based on GGR (in line with the tax rates paid by land operators in Missouri);

* Extensive and detailed provisions restricting the acceptance of wagers from a diverse range of punters that includes employees, relatives, owners, referees, athletes, coaches, team owners and even employees of sports governing bodies such as the MLB;

* Clauses that prohibit any individual with access to non-public confidential information held by the operator from placing wagers with the operator;

* Prohibitions on wagering through proxies or agents;

* Empowering sports governing bodies to direct the state gaming commission to limit or restrict wagering on its games, including the provision of data and video coverage,  which must be provided by the sports governing bodies, or entities authorised by such bodies;

* Provisions requiring operators to notify unusual betting patterns to the Gaming Commission, and requirements that sports governing bodies be provided on request with information such as “account-level betting information and audio or video files relating to persons placing wagers,” along  with live betting data with identifiable punter information such as IP addresses.

The draft represents a sports governing body wish list, and some of these rather radical provisions are unlikely to survive the political gauntlet the bill will ultimately have to run in the state Legislature.

That said, it is an interesting indication of the intentions and ambitions of the sports leagues that have so fiercely fought against gambling in sport in the past.

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