In Mississippi, legislative negotiators were unable to reach a final proposal for the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, which would have legalized mobile sports betting in the state. Despite both the House and Senate passing versions of the bill, concerns about its impact on casinos prevented it from moving forward. Although sports wagering has been legal in Mississippi for years, online betting has remained prohibited.
The aim of the bill was to address this issue by allowing the state to join the 30 others where mobile sports betting is legal. Republican Rep. Casey Eure of Saucier, the bill’s sponsor, estimated that legalizing mobile sports betting could generate over $25 million in tax revenue annually. Additionally, legalization would reduce the appeal of illegal offshore sports betting platforms in Mississippi, which has one of the highest rates of illegal online sports betting Google searches in the country.
During discussions in the Legislature, some lawmakers raised concerns that smaller casinos would be left out of partnerships with betting platforms and that most of the revenue would flow to established casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. However, a final proposal was not presented before the deadline passed without an agreement being reached. Michael Goldberg is a reporter with Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, covering underreported issues locally. You can follow him on Twitter at @mikergoldberg.
