Mississippi has passed a bill that will create a Mobile Sports Betting Task Force to study the divisive new practice. Supporters of statewide mobile sports betting are not convinced that a task force will help their cause.
Governor Tate Reeves is next to review the bill. The House approved it 109-5 after earlier changes made by the Senate, where it passed 49-1.
In Mississippi, the current regulations require gamblers to be on casino property when betting on sports from a mobile phone. The original version of House Bill 606 had expanded those parameters to include the whole state, but that was altered early on in the legislative process.
The bill's sponsor, Representative Casey Eure, was responsible for an amendment in the House Appropriations Committee, which changed its scope to creating a Mobile Sports Betting Taskforce. Eure hopes to pass a statewide implementation bill in the next session.
After the Senate changes, the taskforce would have 13 members, which could include: the Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue and the chair of the Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association.
The chairs of the House and Senate gaming committees will appoint three members, and each must also appoint at least one licensed casino operator.
Eure said, "We felt it was the proper thing to put this task force together, then hopefully next year have a good mobile sports betting bill that this House can pass.”
If the bill is signed by the Governor, it will become law by July 1 and the task force must hold its first meeting within 60 days.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review would then have until December 15 to file a public report on tax force’s conclusions.
