A legislative panel in Mississippi has given the green light to a bill that would facilitate mobile sports betting, a move that supporters claim will address high consumer interest and generate millions in new tax income.
House Gaming Chairman Rep. Casey Eure, a Republican from Saucier, is making another attempt to advance the proposal after lawmakers struggled to reach a consensus on a final plan in 2024. While sports betting has been legalized in the state for a number of years, and casino gaming has been around for decades, online betting still faces prohibition due to concerns that it might negatively impact the profits of the state’s casinos — a point that Eure recognized during the committee session.
“I want to emphasize that I support our physical casinos, and this legislation ensures that all sports betting remains linked to physical casino venues,” Eure stated.
The House Gaming Committee approved an updated version of the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, which has been adjusted to address the reservations expressed by the Senate last year.
A significant change in the updated bill permits a casino to collaborate with up to two sports betting platforms instead of just one. This alteration aims to alleviate the concerns of casino executives and lawmakers from regions where gambling plays a vital role in the economy.
The legislation stipulates that betting companies, like DraftKings and FanDuel, must partner with physical casinos. These platforms are anticipated to commence operations on December 8, 2025.
In the preceding year, some lawmakers voiced worries that gambling operators would lack the motivation to team up with smaller casinos, leading to an economic imbalance where most profits would be concentrated in the larger, already thriving casinos located along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
To help safeguard the revenues of these smaller gaming establishments, this year’s bill plans to create a fund from which these casinos can draw for the initial five years following the legalization of online sports betting. This $6 million fund will be replenished annually through taxes collected from sports betting activities. Any remaining funds will be redirected towards the repair of roads and bridges within the state.
Additionally, this year’s proposal includes a ban on using credit cards for placing bets, responding to Senate concerns about potential gambling addiction. During the meeting, some committee members reacted by dubbing the initiative a “nanny state.”
The proposed bill would impose a 12% tax on sports betting activities, with the revenue directed to the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund, benefiting all 82 counties in Mississippi. Eure estimates that the state is currently missing out on between $40 million and $80 million in tax revenue due to the illegality of mobile sports betting.
Advocates of the legislation argue that legalizing sports betting could diminish the sway of unregulated offshore betting sites. Data presented to committee members indicated that since the beginning of the NFL season, Mississippi has seen approximately 8.69 million attempts to access legal mobile sportsbooks. This high demand contributes to an active illegal gambling market in the state.
Currently, mobile sports betting is authorized in 30 states and Washington, D.C., as reported by the American Gaming Association.
The bill is now set to advance for consideration by the full House.
