When Mississippi state Rep. Bobby Moak introduced the Mississippi Lawful Internet Act of 2015 last month, he knew it would not succeed in an election year. His colleagues recently proved him right—for the third time–by not advancing the bill past the committee level. The bill would have licensed and regulated internet gambling.
“My Republican colleagues have not been moving very much at all concerning gaming. They haven’t looked at doing any of the incentives that some other businesses get, and we’ve got to create some opportunities to help the bottom lines for gaming houses,” Moak said. He noted two Mississippi casinos closed last year due to competition in neighboring states.
Moak said the disappointing results from regulated online gaming in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware should not impact internet gambling in Mississippi. “We all know the numbers weren’t as huge as some people thought they would be, but my position on internet gaming is just to give the industry options it needs in this changing market. It’s another tool they should have,” he said.
To be successful in the online industry, Mississippi would need to combine player pools with other jurisdictions, such as California. That state could advance online poker legislation this year, which Moak said could help his bill’s chances in 2016. “If you have a large, populous state like California that theoretically we could compact with, you have to see how that helps your industry here in Mississippi. If those states that have population get into online gaming, that should be an impetus to help states like Mississippi move their legislation forward.” However, gambling interest groups in California have not been able to agree on legislative provisions, diminishing the chances of California’s AB 9 and AB 167 bills progressing in 2015.
Moak’s bill included a controversial provision imposing a fine of up to $10,000, and up to 90 days in prison for people found gambling on unregulated sites. Rich Muny, vice president of the Poker Players Alliance, said, “I think all player penalties are misguided. Players penalties wrongly shift the target of enforcement efforts from hard-to-reach offshore sites to the players.” Moak said that and other issues will be addressed before the bill is reintroduced. “There will be plenty of opportunity for different groups to come in and espouse their wishes on how it should be. It’s way early in the process for that,” he said.
