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The Legislature’s upper chamber debated a proposal late Wednesday that would tax wagers on sports at a 15% rate, up from the 8% tax approved earlier this year by the House.

Sponsored by Sen. , R-Warrensburg, the outline would generate an estimated $114 million in revenue, which is significantly higher than other states are receiving from their legal betting regulations.

The measure also would allow certain kinds of bets to be placed at locations where Missouri Lottery tickets are sold.

The new plan comes a week after the Senate was unable to approve an earlier proposal by Hoskins that was tied to an attempt to rid the state of illegal slot machines that have spread across the state in recent years.

Although the failure of the earlier plan signaled to many observers that sports betting in Missouri might be dead for the year, Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said he has not stopped lobbying as the House and Senate head into the final days of their annual legislative session.

“We continue to discuss issues related to sports betting legislation with our ‘coalition’ partners as well as certain legislators,� DeWitt told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday.

Hoskins, too, acknowledged he is communicating with the state’s pro sports teams and casino owners.

“I’ve been in discussion with members of the coalition, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs, Penn National, Missouri Gaming (Association). ... They all are very aware of this,â€� he said.

Until a 2018 court case, full-scale sports betting was illegal in all states except Nevada. Some states moved quickly to get sports betting and its tax proceeds on the books. Illinois legalized it in June 2019. Kansas is poised to join the ranks this year. Missourians near the state’s borders have ample opportunities to spend their money elsewhere: Six of the eight states bordering Missouri have legalized sports betting.

After the measure floundered in Missouri for several years, the state’s sports teams formed a coalition with casinos and sports betting platforms to bring Missouri in line with other states.

Initially, they filed preliminary paperwork to collect signatures in an effort to place a question asking voters if they want to make sports betting legal.

The ballot initiative was shelved when lawmakers signaled they might be ready to move on their own this session.

With the backing of the Cardinals, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Blues and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ City soccer club, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals, the latest plan was approved by the House in March on a 115-33 vote.

The House plan calls for the state’s 13 casinos, as well as sports venues such as Busch Stadium, to have betting windows. People also could use their mobile devices to place bets on games through websites and apps such as and .

Bettors would have to be 21 or older. The Missouri Lottery could suspend the lottery sales license of any companies that offer gambling on machines that are not regulated.

In addition, municipalities could vote to prohibit slot machines within their borders. Counties could decide whether to allow gambling in unincorporated areas.

But the push has run into roadblocks in the Senate.

Hoskins tacked the latest draft to an omnibus business bill that was moving through the Senate Wednesday. The overall legislation, however, did not advance amid pushback by Sen. , R-Joplin.

“This is a contentious bill,� White said.

Among the new features is the authorization of “parlay� bets, which would legalize placing bets on sports teams at convenience stores as well as at casinos, he said.

“Instead of, like with Powerball now, you say, ‘Hey I want numbers 3, 9 and 22,� Hoskins said, “you would say, ‘Hey I want to bet on the Chiefs, the Chargers and the Bears.’�

The plan also includes $5 million to address “problem gambling.�

“We want to make sure the stakeholders in that (the gaming expansion) also pay for any problems,� Hoskins said.

Hoskins said he estimated the 15% tax on sports bets would generate about $34 million, and that parlay bets would bring in about $80 million to the state for education.

Another hurdle facing the legislation is the $1.25 million price of an annual license to offer wagering.

Hoskins said license fees paid each year by professional sports teams and casinos “if all 39 licenses, or skins, were utilized, would generate almost $50 million a year.�

“If we’re getting that much money in taxes … how much is being taken out of our economy by gambling?� White asked. “How much money is being made by the entities that would be running sports betting?�

The action comes as illegal, unregulated slot machines have proliferated across the state through politically connected companies like Torch Electronics, which is represented by lobbyist Steve Tilley, a former House speaker who wields clout under the statehouse dome as a fundraiser and ally of Gov. Mike Parson.

Senate President , R-Sullivan, has tried unsuccessfully for at least two years to eradicate as many as 14,000 machines that have been placed in bars, liquor stores and gas stations.

The legislation is an amendment to

Originally posted at 10:40 a.m. Thursday, May 4.