A panel of House lawmakers kept alive the effort to legalize mobile sports betting in Mississippi, but the bill does not appear to have enough support in the Senate to pass.
Hours before a Tuesday evening legislative deadline, the House Gaming Committee inserted into two Senate bills the language from a measure the full House passed last month to permit online betting. The legislation would put Mississippi on track to join a growing number of states that allow online sports wagering.
But the House Gaming Committee had to resort to the procedural move after its Senate counterpart declined to take up its bill. Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson, said he does not support the measure, prompting frustration from House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, a Republican from Saucier. Eure said he implemented suggested changes from the Senate after lawmakers couldn’t agree on a final proposal in 2024.
“This shows how serious we are about mobile sports betting,” Eure said. “I’ve done everything he’s asked for … I’ve done everything they’ve asked for plus some.”
In a February 88-10 vote, the House approved a new version of the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, which Eure said was reworked to address concerns raised by the Senate last year. The new version would allow a casino to partner with two sports betting platforms rather than one. Allowing casinos to partner with an extra platform is designed to assuage the concerns of casino leaders and lawmakers who represent areas where gambling is big business.
Last year, some lawmakers raised concerns that gambling platforms would have no incentive to partner with smaller casinos, and most of the money would instead flow to the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s already bustling larger casinos.
Other changes include a provision that prevents people from placing bets with credit cards, a request from the Senate to guard against gambling addiction.
Blount said there were growing concerns in other states that have legalized online sports betting, including over what consumer protections can be put in place and the impact legalization could have on existing gambling markets.
“This is a different industry than any other industry because it is subject to forces outside of the control of the folks who are in this business,” Blount said. “And so what I think we need to do as a state, and we have done this for decades, is we have provided a stable regulatory environment, regardless of who is in the legislature, regardless of who the governor is, without a lot of drama.”
The proposal would levy a 12% tax on sports wagers, with revenue reaching all 82 counties via the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund. Eure said he believes the state is losing between $40 million and $80 million a year in tax revenue by keeping mobile sports betting illegal.
Proponents also say legalization would undercut the influence of illicit offshore sports betting platforms.
Since the start of the NFL season this year, Mississippi has recorded 8.69 million attempts to access legal mobile sportsbooks, according to materials presented to House members at an earlier committee meeting. That demand fuels a thriving illegal online gambling market in Mississippi, proponents have said. Opponents say legalization could devastate the bottom line of smaller casinos and lead to debt and addiction among gamblers.
Mobile sports betting is legal in 30 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association.
The House panel inserted the mobile sports betting language into SB 2381 and SB 2510. The bills now head to the full chamber for consideration.
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