The Fight for Mississippi Online Sports Betting • This Week in Gambling

Betting on sports may be legal there, but Mississippi online sports betting is a totally different animal. After quickly moving through their House of Representatives, the Mississippi Sports Wagering Act died in the Senate. Undeterred, legislators are preparing to open the 2025 legislative session soon, with the issue of mobile sports bets at the top of some agendas.

The primary points of contention between the House and Senate were the licensing and taxation structures for online sportsbooks. Some senators voiced concerns that legal internet sports bets could harm the state’s physical casinos, while others argued that excluding online casino games from the proposal would be short-sighted.

These disagreements ultimately killed any hopes of Mississippi online sports betting last year, even with support from the state’s commercial casinos. Major casino operators, including MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, supported the legalization of online sports bets in the state, viewing it as a complement to their brick-and-mortar businesses rather than a threat.

Mississippi’s 26 commercial casinos, which generated $2.5 billion in gross gaming revenue last year, are among the top gaming markets in the U.S. Industry leaders argue that legalizing Mississippi online sports betting would stimulate the state’s economy and help reduce illegal gambling activities.

Mississippi’s restrictive stance on sports betting has led some residents to seek out unregulated online platforms or travel to neighboring states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, where online wagering is legal. Advocates for expanding sports betting point out that limiting it to retail locations has also resulted in lost tax revenue. We will be keeping an eye on this story for sure.

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