The Mississippi Senate Gaming Committee recently met to discuss expanding online sports betting. Currently mobile wagering is allowed only on casino properties. And now that sports betting has been legalized in neighboring Louisiana, likely with mobile wagering, the state is considering a response.
MGM Resorts International Vice President/Legal Counsel Anthony DelVescovo said, “Mississippi should have remote betting. We should adapt something more like New Jersey. It’s a better model to look at because they have bricks-and-mortar along with mobile, whereas Tennessee is all mobile. Mississippi was an early adaptor of sports wagering in the U.S., but every year we wait on this, we are leaving money on the table and letting other states get ahead of us. I’m confident we can get something done.”
Last year, three state House bills that would have expanded online sports betting died without any floor votes.
In October, sports betting in Mississippi set a state record for handle at $61.2 million, compared to $52.2 million in September and $48 million in October 2019, according to state data. The previous record was $56.4 million in November 2019.
October revenue reached $8.8 million, up 32.9 percent from $6.6 million in September. This was the second-highest revenue number in Mississippi gaming history. However, revenue dropped 28.7 percent from the October 2019 record of $12.3 million.
Mississippi began offering sports betting in casino sportsbooks in August 2018. Tax revenue goes to the state’s road and bridge fund. Neighboring Tennessee launched mobile-only sports betting November 1 and took in $27 million in the first week. Louisiana voters in 55 of 64 parishes overwhelmingly approved sports betting in the November election. Now the state legislature must approve a tax rate and regulations.
