Mississippi House panel approves casino tax increase
This would raise casino taxes by 4%.
Key Points
- The current casino tax rate is 12%
- The bill’s sponsor said he believes casinos need to be “taxed appropriately.”
The Mississippi House Ways and Means Committee has advanced a bill that would increase taxes on casinos, according to a Mississippi Today local news report.
If passed, casino taxes would increase from 12% to 16%.
Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said his bill is designed to “recoup the tens of millions of dollars a year Mississippi is ‘losing’ from not legalizing online betting,” the local report said.
Lamar commented, “If everybody’s honest with themselves, online sports betting is already going on,” referring to illegal online gambling.
However, the state does not receive taxes from this activity.
Lamar stood before committee members and explained his motivation for supporting the bill.
He said, “The goal post continues to be moved on the other end of the building (the Senate). We’re going to tax it appropriately.
“There needs to be some further light shed on this topic … (Illegal online gambling) has reached pandemic level … It’s my understanding that a small handful of casinos are standing in the way of that legislation. “
In other state news, the Mississippi Gaming Commission has released its sports wagering results for the month of January.
The state’s sports betting handle reached $42.5m last month, down by close to $12m when compared to results posted in December.
Coastal region players placed the largest total wagers in contribution to last month’s overall state handle. The Central region grabbed the second-place spot last month.
In a breakdown of the state’s total sports betting handle from last month, those living in the Coastal region bet nearly $29.3m, while players in the Central and Northern regions wagered $8m and $5.2m respectively.
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