Statewide online sports betting and mobile pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing is one step closer to reality in Mississippi.
The Mississippi House of Representatives passed an amended version of House Bill 774 on Thursday by a 97-14 vote.
H.B. 774, the “Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act,” would legalize online race and sports betting sites, which are currently prohibited in the Magnolia State except for a few apps that accept action while at a casino property.
“Mississippi is number one for illegal online sports betting in the country,” said Rep. Casey Eure, the principal author of H.B. 774. “Mississippi was the highest state for searches on illegal offshore accounts as a percent of all Google searches.”
Mississippi Rep. Casey Eure, chair of the House gaming committee, notes that the Georgia Senate passed an online sports betting bill earlier today and that Alabama is preparing to drop a "full gaming package" soon.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 1, 2024
Says his bill, H.B. 774, would help keep the state's gambling… pic.twitter.com/dfv2Eb0sxn
H.B. 774, which is en route to the Mississippi Senate, would allow casinos to partner with one online betting operator apiece to offer mobile wagering, provided those operators obtain a license first.
The “tethered” licensing structure reflects concerns voiced by physical casino operators during hearings held by a Mississippi mobile wagering task force last fall about the financial effect of statewide online gambling.
“DraftKings and FanDuel cannot come into our state and just open their own sportsbook and send the tax dollars and keep the revenue,” Eure said. “It stays with a bricks-and-mortar casino.”
Bettors would have to be 21 or older and could register for accounts in person at a casino or over the Internet. The bipartisan bill was also amended on Thursday on the House floor to set a tax rate of 12% for gross revenue earned via mobile sports wagering.
Another proposed amendment, which would have attributed online sports betting revenue generated in an area to a casino within 40 miles of where the wager was placed, was shot down.
Casino considerations
Mississippi has nearly 30 commercial and tribal casinos that offer in-person sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing. Again, a few of those facilities enable mobile betting when a person is physically on their property but nowhere else, as statewide internet gambling is illegal.
How H.B. 774 fares in the Mississippi Senate and whether it ever becomes law remains to be seen. However, the pressure for Mississippi lawmakers to pass a mobile wagering measure is not going away, especially with the Super Bowl and March Madness right around the corner.
Eure suggested it was possible Mississippi could realize as much as $50 million in sports betting tax revenue in the first year of mobile wagering, which would go toward funding road and bridge repair and other infrastructure projects.
The author and gaming committee chairman also noted that the Georgia Senate passed online sports betting legislation as well on Thursday and that lawmakers in Alabama are preparing a comprehensive package of gaming legislation.
“All I'm doing is trying to give another product to our casino industry in our state to stay competitive,” Eure said. “And I feel like that's what we're doing.”
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