Missouri Sports Betting Tax Hike Rejected as Casino Smoking Ban Faces Long Odds
Posted on: May 6, 2026, 09:49h.
Last updated on: May 6, 2026, 09:50h.
- Missouri’s 10% sports betting tax on gross revenue will remain
- Legislation proposed increasing the state’s tax on sportsbooks to 34%
- In related Missouri gaming news, a proposal to end casino smoking is unlikely
Missouri sportsbooks can breathe a sigh of relief after legislation that sought to more than triple the state’s take of their gross proceeds was scrapped.
Missouri House Bill 3533 proposed jacking up the state’s tax on gross sports betting receipts, or the amount of the handle retained by oddsmakers after paying out winning bets. HB3533 recommended that oddsmakers direct 34%, up 24% from the current 10% tax, of their gross revenue to the state.
On Tuesday, the Missouri Crime and Public Safety Committee voted 9-7 in moving HB3533 forward, which also addresses other gaming matters, but not before stripping the sports betting tax hike from the statute. Lawmakers expressed concerns about whether the General Assembly possessed the legal power to raise the sports betting tax since the levy was dictated by the statewide ballot referendum voters passed during the November 2024 election.
Amendment 2, which narrowly passed with 50.05% support, specifically asked voters if they wished to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow for retail and online sports betting, so long as a “10% wagering tax on revenues” is received and appropriated to education.
The amended HB3533 moves forward with a proposal to increase the riverboat entry fee from $2 per admission to $5.50.
Missouri Casino Smoking
Casino players and employees wishing for clean indoor environments free of secondhand smoke might not get their way in 2026.
House Bill 1618 was filed in January by a bipartisan group of seven state representatives, including Reps. Bruce Sassmann (R-Montgomery), Terri Violet (R-St. Peters), Tricia Byrnes (R-Wentzville), Adrian Plank (D-Columbia), Anthony Ealy (D-Grandview), Gregg Bush (D-Columbia), and Michael Burton (D-Lakeshire). The bill proposes amending the Missouri Clean Indoor Air Law of 1993 to rescind exemptions for casino smoking.
Under the current law, “gaming facilities and any other facilities in which any gaming or gambling activity is conducted” are permitted to designate 30% of their gaming floor space for indoor tobacco consumption. HB1618 would repeal the indoor smoking privilege.
But after being read twice on the House floor in January, the Missouri casino smoking measure stalled. The bill is not currently on the House calendar, nor has a hearing on its merits been set. The text has additionally not been assigned a House committee for review.
The Missouri legislature is set to adjourn for 2026 next Friday, May 15.
Smoking Bans Difficult
Smoking rates in the US continue to decline, but state lawmakers across the country have been unwilling to revisit their smoking laws to close indoor casino smoking loopholes. Anti-smoking advocates have called on legislatures in numerous states to end casino smoking, including, along with Missouri, in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kansas, Nevada, and Michigan, to no avail.
The casino lobby has argued that smoking bans would result in lower gaming revenue, as smokers would find other places where they can spin slot machines and play table games while holding a cigarette or cigar.
The American Lung Association reports that less than 12% of adults are currently smokers, down from 42% in 1965 and 15% a decade ago. A 2008 study at the University of Nevada, Reno, concluded that the percentage of gamblers who smoke was no different from the overall US percentage of smokers.
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