St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III didn’t mince words.
When asked about the status of legal sports betting in Missouri, which will host the NFL Draft beginning Thursday, he told last week, “I would describe it as an extremely high level of frustration with not being able to bring this to a vote. We have an issue that is extremely popular with our fans, popular with the politicians, and it's blocked because others wanna hitch a ride on our wagon, and they have enough clout to bully their way onto the bill.
“They won't get what they want, but I guess they don't care that we don't get anything either. It is really childish behavior.”
With about three weeks left in the current legislative session, Missouri is poised to remain an island surrounded by legal betting states. Lawmakers, professional sports executives, and casino representatives have all but given up hope of finding a way to broker a deal with Sen. Denny Hoskins, who has twice blocked the passage of legal wagering. In fact, one industry insider said stakeholders may back off negotiations until Hoskins term limits out of office in November 2024. That would mean legal wagering wouldn’t get to Missouri until 2025 at the earliest.