Mississippi House gives green light to mobile sports betting
HB774’s 12% tax on revenue projected to raise $25m-$35m in first year to fund emergency repairs on roads and bridges
A bill to expand sports betting to online passed through the House in Mississippi yesterday, February 1, and will now head to the Senate.
After a brief debate on the House floor, there was overwhelming support for HB774 – filed by Republican Casey Eure just a few days beforehand – as the bill received 97 votes for and just 14 against.
The draft legislation would tax all sports betting at 12% of revenue, while Eure said, based on Mississippi Gaming Commission estimates, the state would collect between $25m and $35m in the first year. The money will be used to fund emergency road and bridge repairs.
Mississippi was among the initial wave of states to launch legal sports betting, in August 2018, albeit restricting the activity to the state’s casinos over fears online betting would deprive these properties of vital revenue.
More than two-dozen casinos in the state have established in-person betting facilities, with a few casinos also having apps that patrons can use to gamble providing they physically remain within the grounds of the property.
By doing away with ‘tethered’ mobile betting, gamblers would be able to register, deposit and withdraw remotely without having to visit a retail sportsbook.
Mobile operators would still need to partner with a casino in the state, which is home to around three million people.
Most of the leading operators including FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM are already in Mississippi, but they will be able to offer unrestricted options if the Senate approves the bill and it receives the signature of Governor Tate Reeves.
Handle in Mississippi has been steadily falling in recent years, slumping from a high of $586m in 2021 to $532m the following year and $474m throughout 2023.
HB774 would reverse this decline and boost Mississippi’s standing among the states with unrestricted mobile sports betting.
Eure argued that by following the 29 other US jurisdictions with mobile betting, it will help to supress the black market.
He said that illegal betting sites attract $64bn in wagers from American citizens each year and that Mississippi accounts for 5% of this market, or around $3bn in illegal wagers.
Elsewhere, Georgia’s Senate formally advanced SB386 to bring regulated sports betting to the Peach State by a vote of 35 to 15.