Following the dissolving of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in 2018, and the resulting trend of US states embracing sports betting, Missouri and North Dakota have both put forward bills that would expand sports betting in their state since the beginning of the current legislative session on Jan 3rd.
Missouri has put forward House Bill 581 which was sponsored by Representative Phil Christofanelli, which would repeal three sections of the current sports betting law and enact 17 new ones, including enabling land-based casinos to offer sports betting and to partner with suppliers online. This amendment will also allow Missouri-based sports teams to partner with sports gambling providers to launch online sports betting services as long as they are in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS, WNBA or NWSL.
Similarly, the North Dakota House of Representatives has put forward an amendment that is looking to amend Section 25 of Article Xi of the Constitution of North Dakota. House Concurrent Resolution No. 3002 was introduced by seven House members and five Senate members and would “require the legislative assembly to authorise sports betting to be conducted in the state and licensed and regulated by the state”.
However, the bill will not go into a referendum until 2024, which means enacting legalised sports betting in North Dakota isn’t likely to come into fruition until at least 2025. This is likely to be the case for Missouri’s latest attempt to legalise sports betting too.
