There is a fresh twist to the long-running Mississippi online betting issue. The Mississippi House has amended two Senate bills to include provisions for legal sports betting—specifically, digital sports betting.
The bill has been forwarded to the Senate, where it’ll be subjected to further debate and potential negotiation. If it eventually gets approved, it’ll be a significant milestone in the state’s continued attempt to modernize its gambling laws.
The change could also lead to a significant increase in tax revenue from legalized betting in the state. However, opponents worry that money going to online sportsbooks would lead to reduced revenue and job losses among Mississippi’s retail sportsbook venues.
While retail sports betting has been operating legally in Mississippi’s casinos since 2018, previous attempts to legalize mobile betting have not succeeded. However, this situation may change as the Senate re-entertains a bill to add digital betting to its gaming roster.
At the time the bill first left the Senate, it focused primarily on issues like tidelands and penalties for illegally operating gambling platforms. The initial proposal did not make room for digital sports betting. That’s no more the case now, thanks to the House inserting language from a previously unsuccessful digital wagering bill into one of the tidelands bills.
Casey Eure, the bill’s sponsor, has argued that the change will bring mobile sports betting into the regulated market.
While Mississippi’s casinos have been legally running retail sports betting since 2018, all previous attempts to introduce online betting have been frustrated. Although the Senate gaming committee hasn’t addressed sports betting this year and the legislative session is set to adjourn on April 6, there’s hope of a change in fortune soon.
One of the key provisions that now features in the Senate Bill 2381 is the tideland issue. The amended bill still tracks assessments for casino boats, which must pay fees for any construction on tidelands, while also defining internet gambling. The new provisions state that existing casinos could receive up to two “digital skins” – or licenses – to operate online sportsbooks or racebooks.
With the digital skins, they would be offering several bet options from in-play to proposition bets, and the legal betting age would be pegged at 21. No specific tax rate has been proposed for digital betting, and mixed reactions have greeted the proposal to grant skins to established casinos.
This approach will aim to blend traditional gambling with modern digital offerings. It would leverage the existing retail framework to expand Mississippi’s market, without having to create an entirely new regulatory system.
Fearing that the growth of online betting apps could massively impact their retail revenue, local casinos like Churchill Downs Inc. and the Cordish Companies are resisting the expansion plans. As per Clarion-Ledger, eight brick-and-mortar casino operators in Mississippi have registered strong opposition to the legislation. They argue that without local referendums, state-wide digital betting could harm local businesses and the overall gambling environment in Mississippi.
The larger casino industry even put out a letter to this effect, stating that putting a casino in the hands of every Mississippi resident—whether at home, school, or church—is “not the right vision for gaming in Mississippi.” There are growing concerns that only well-capitalized operators would benefit from the shift of revenue from physical casinos to online casinos, and not the state’s economy.
The issue of online betting in Mississippi has long been a difficult terrain to navigate. Proponents argue that digital sports betting would carve out new revenue streams and create a regulated, safer gambling environment. However, there are concerns that it could also impact the continued survival of Mississippi’s more traditional casino gaming industry and the local retail businesses that service it.
For people like Casey Eure, the current House amendments are a step in the right direction. Eure hopes that by integrating digital sports betting language into already progressing bills, the state can negotiate a solution benefiting all stakeholders. As Mississippi moves forward, the challenge will be to find a balanced approach that supports innovation in online betting while protecting the interests of local casino operators.
