Latest Mississippi mobile sports betting bill fails to pass
Lawmakers killed the bill due to concerns that land-based locations could lose money.
Mississippi sports fans will have to continue placing their bets in person, according to a recent Associated Press report.
Legislative negotiators were not able to advance a final mobile sports betting proposal, which means online sports betting will continue to remain illegal in Mississippi.
But retail sports betting has been legal in the state for several years.
Earlier in the state’s most recent legislative session, both the Senate and the House passed versions of the state’s Mobile Sports Wagering Act. However, concerns surrounding the fate of Mississippi’s brick-and-mortar casinos kept the bill from advancing any farther.
Advocates for legalized mobile sports betting maintain that allowing a regulated market would boost tax revenue on an annual basis. Representative Casey Eure of Saucier, who sponsored the most recent mobile sports betting proposal, told reporters that the state could generate an estimated $25m in tax revenue per year.
Furthermore, lawmakers have presented data that shows Mississippi as the top state in the nation for illegal online gambling Google searches.
Currently, more than 35 states have established legal and regulated sports betting markets since the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) in May 2018, also known as the Bradley Act.
In related news, similar concerns regarding the economic impact that land-locked casinos would have on Mississippi River establishments recently killed a bill that would have allowed new casino construction in Jackson.
However, Mississippi has welcomed casinos around the state for more than three decades.
Prior to 2005, Mississippi law only permitted casino development over water. The laws on the books were amended, however, following the events of Hurricane Katrina. Damage to casino barges due to the storm caused lawmakers to revisit the prior stipulations.
Now casino development is allowed in areas that are “a short distance on shore.” This includes areas along the Mississippi and the Gulf Coast.
The state Gaming Commission has licensed 12 casinos on the Gulf Coast and another 14 along the Mississippi. The state is also home to three casinos that are not regulated by the state. Those are owned and operated by The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
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