KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Friday marks the last day of session in Missouri's state Senate, with many bills still up in the air on whether they can get passed or not.
One of the most watched bills in the session is the legalization of sports gambling in Missouri. It remains unsure if the bill can secure enough votes needed to legalize the activity.
The bill has garnered support from many, including lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and from professional sports teams around the state, like the Kansas City Royals and their cross-state rival, the St. Louis Cardinals.
The bill passed 118-35 in the Republican-led House in March, but progress to move it has been stagnant since it reached the Senate floor.
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Republican who represents Buchnan and Platte counties in northwest Missouri, talked with KSHB 41's Bryant Maddrick Friday morning and said it is unlikely the bill will pass the Missouri Senate Friday.
"There still is a possibility that we find a way forward," Luetkemeyer said. "I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible."
Luetkemeyer said one of the key issues is the lack of a "clean bill."
"Things are obviously very tricky to navigate it across the finish line this late in game," Luetkemeyer told KSHB 41.
Luetkemeyer wouldn't declare the effort dead, but optimism appears to have reached close to a low point.
“I would not say the issue is dead. I would say that it is alive," Luetkemeyer said Tuesday. "The question will be, can we find a path in the waning hours of this legislative session?"
If it does not pass this legislative session, it will mark the third straight year Missouri has failed to legalize sports gambling.
Thirty other states in the country, including states neighboring Missouri like Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska, have already legalized sports gambling. Kansas legalized it last year.
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