Just three months after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting, five Mississippi casinos now are accepting sports bets, and several more are getting ready to open their sports books before the professional and SEC college football seasons start in less than two weeks.
MGM Resorts International’s two Mississippi properties–Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi and Gold Strike Casino in Tunica–were the first in the state to offer sports betting, on August 1, the 26th anniversary of legal casino gambling in the state. Boyd Gaming’s IP Casino Resort in Biloxi and Sam’s Town in Tunica followed two days later, and Horseshoe Casino in Tunica opened its sports book one week ago.
Officials at Native American casinos said no dates have been set but they expect to offer sports betting before Labor Day. Construction is under way at Golden Moon Hotel and Casino in Choctaw for the Sportsbook at Timeout Lounge. Sports betting also will be available at Bok Homa Casino near Laurel.
And Penn National Gaming said last week sports betting at its five Mississippi casinos— Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast, Boomtown Casino Biloxi, Hollywood Casino Tunica, 1st Jackpot Casino Tunica, and Resorts Casino Tunica—would all be up and running by the end of August.
At present, sports bets only may be placed at betting windows in a designated area within the casino. That will change in the near future as casinos develop mobile apps to allow customers to place a bet on their mobile devices from anywhere on a casino property, including their rooms, restaurants, lounges and at gaming tables and machines. Mobile or online betting is not allowed off the casino grounds, which would require separate legislation.
Gold Strike President and Chief Operating Officer David Tsai said the debut of sports betting there has been “smooth with no issues.” He added, “The handle amount of money bet has been lower than we expect long-term. The better gauge for long-term volumes will be once football season kicks off in September. That said, our handle and betting volumes already exceed that in many Vegas casinos. We are seeing hundreds of guests coming on property to place sports wagers in our new sports book.”
Beau Rivage Vice President of Marketing Brandon Dardeau said, “We’ve had a steady flow of people even though we opened the sports book at a slow time of the sports season. We’re really happy with the way we’ve started off.” Bettors there can wager on everything from Major League baseball to professional golf to NASCAR, plus the first weekend of college and NFL football, as well as the number of games a particular football team will win this coming season.
Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Allen Godfrey said no financial figures will be available until the end of the month. He noted sports betting is not expected to be a significant producer of revenue for Mississippi casinos, which could be $35 million-$150 million. For example, in Nevada, Godfrey said, sports betting accounted for 2.5 percent of overall casino gambling revenue in 2017; slots generated 63 percent of overall profits and table games 33 percent. In Mississippi, casino revenue is taxed at 12 percent with 8 percent going to the state and 4 percent to local government.
Statewide, in 2017 casino revenue fell more than $40 million to $2.08 billion. Revenue was slightly up for Gulf Coast casinos, but was down about 5 percent at the river casinos.
Dardeau said, “It won’t be anything like the revenue from slot machines or table games. It will be a very small percentage. In our view, it’s more like another amenity to bring people to the casinos. It’s something else we can offer as part of the total experience. It’s more about driving traffic.”
Mississippi was among the first states to approve sports betting, since lawmakers passed legislation in 2017 to allow it if the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban. Sports betting still is illegal in bordering states of Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee. Mississippi casinos are planning intensive marketing campaigns in those states.
