On December 1st, over a year after Missouri voted for a constitutional amendment to allow placing bets on sporting events to become legal, sports betting became officially legal in the state.
The decision to legalize sports betting in the state had been the subject of much debate for the people of Missouri, but in the end, practicality won out. Before it was legalized, if a person in Missouri wished to bet on sports, they could simply drive a few hours to a border state and place their bets there. Legalizing sports betting in Missouri allows the state to benefit from the taxes placed on the medium rather than letting the economic gain go to a border state.
Derek Durst gave his say on the matter: “It’s like not the worst thing to keep the money in-house for taxes. But it wasn’t really based on that. I just kind of wanted it legal here, because it’s inconvenient to drive to Illinois.”
Missouri is not the first to legalize sports betting, and it is also not alone. Almost 40 states have passed laws or made amendments to allow sports betting to be legal. After the first state legalized sports betting, it has almost become a wave, spreading across the nation as each state does not want to miss out on the profits it can bring in through taxes, and the citizens want more freedom to bet on what they want to.
With gambling already being legal in Missouri, allowing citizens to bet on sporting events was seen as a natural progression. Many participants say that sports betting helps make games more entertaining, as it means the viewer has actual assets on the line based on the outcome of the game rather than just team pride.
Missouri’s gambling hotline is available for those who suffer from a gambling addiction, but the amendment that legalized sports betting does not require other methods of combating gambling addictions, such as betting limits, to be used.
