Legislative efforts to legalize online sports betting in Mississippi met with stiff resistance in the state's Senate, despite eleventh hour House efforts to salvage the bill. As much as the House Gaming Committee wanted to progress the proposal, it now rests on a balanced scale because of its lack of Senate popularity.
With the legislative deadline looming, the House Gaming Committee attached provisions of a bill already approved for mobile sports betting to two different Senate bills. They did this to push forward legislation that would legalize online sports wagering, joining other states that already made that activity legal.
Amending the pending Senate legislation was required after the Senate Gaming Committee refused to act on the bill the House approved. Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount was one of the bill's most vocal critics, and this incensed House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, who said the House made changes because of past Senate objections.
Earlier this year, Mississippi's House passed a revised version of the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, 88-10. One key provision of the new bill permits casinos to affiliate with two sports betting platforms instead of only one.
This adjustment enabled smaller casinos to join instead of letting larger casino resorts along the Gulf Coast benefit from all the advantages. Further, the new proposal includes a prohibition where bets can't be made through credit cards, a provision supporters added amid worries over gambling dependency.
Mississippi faces possible revenue loss as bill stalls
Despite these modifications, the Senate remains concerned about consumer protection measures and how legalizing online betting could impact the state’s gambling industry. Blount argued Mississippi’s regulatory gaming framework has remained stable for years, and the legislature should approach any expansion with caution to avoid unintended consequences.
The bill would tax 12% of all sportsbook wagering revenues and apply most proceeds to maintaining state roadways and bridges if enacted into law. Support figures reasonably estimate Mississippi might lose $40 million to $80 million in annual tax income by continuing to prohibit mobile sportsbook betting.
Proponents further note putting the industry under state regulation would restrict the power of unregulated offshore betting sites, which are otherwise still popular in the Magnolia State.
Opponents caution mobile sports betting will have unintended effects. Some are concerned it would damage smaller casinos by siphoning revenue away from in-store gaming to the internet. Others point to a possible increase in gambling addiction since the widespread availability of cellular devices make it simple for gamblers to bet more often.
According to the American Gaming Association, 30 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized mobile sports betting so far.
With the House Gaming Committee inserting online gambling provisions into SB 2381 and SB 2510, the bills now go to the full House for consideration.
