Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Allen Godfrey recently said although the month-long waiting period for offering sports betting expired, the state’s casinos that had applied for sports betting licenses weren’t quite ready to offer it.
“Right now, the ones wanting to get started are still in the renovation phase.” Godfrey said it may take another two weeks before casinos are approved to take sports bets.
Prior to the expiration of the deadline, 14 of Mississippi’s 28 riverboat and land-based casino properties had applied to offer sportsbooks, Godfrey said. Eventually, all 28 are expected to be approved for sports betting. Under the law, sports betting on cell phones or other mobile devices is not available. Players must place their bets while on casino grounds. Opponents of this restriction are pushing for authorizing mobile sports betting in the 2019 legislative session, noting the state is losing $8 million annually in sports betting taxes.
Mississippi could become the third state, behind New Jersey and Delaware, to launch sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban in May. It’s the only Southern state to have legalized sports wagering.
Currently, Mississippi’s casino industry generates $352 million annually in state and local taxes and $323 million in federal tax revenue, according to the Mississippi Gaming Association. Generally, states aren’t expected to realize large amounts of revenue from sports gambling taxes. The American Gaming Association noted casinos take in about 5 percent of all bets on athletics, and pay out the rest in winnings. States will collect taxes on that 5 percent. In Mississippi, sports betting revenue will be taxed at 8 percent by the state and at up to 4 percent by local governments. Sports betting revenue is directed to the state’s general fund.
Meanwhile, Governor Phil Bryant said he may call a special session in August if House and Senate leaders can agree on a funding plan to raise $200 million annually for highway and bridge improvements. One suggestion is to create a state lottery. Mississippi is one of only six states without a lottery, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The others are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
A few months after the first legal riverboat casinos opened in Mississippi in August 1992, voters removed the state constitution’s ban on a lottery. However, state legislators never passed a law to create a lottery, partly because of opposition from the influential Mississippi Baptist Convention and other religious groups.
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn formed a lottery study group after the 2017 legislative concluded. It reviewed how much money neighboring states collected, after prizes were awarded and expenses were paid, during the budget year ending June 30, 2016. The results showed Arkansas received $85.2 million; Louisiana, $177.9 million; and Tennessee, $395 million. State Economist Darrin Webb said Mississippi residents spend an estimated $5-$10 million annually playing the lottery in Arkansas and about $30 million playing the lottery in Louisiana. The study group made no recommendations for or against creating a Mississippi lottery. Legislators barely discussed the topic during the 2018 regular session that ended in late March.
