In Mississippi, lawmakers are considering a new version of Senate Bill 2780, which would require coastal casino developers to get a tidelands lease directly from the Secretary of State, while protecting coast cities’ control over their ports and harbors.
According to the Biloxi Sun Herald, Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount said, “The purpose of this bill is to restore a consistent regulatory environment for the gaming industry on the Gulf Coast. Those decisions about how best to manage those marina related activities are made by the locals in this bill.” The House previously passed the bill in a 113-6 vote.
The legislation is not retroactive and does not affect the Mississippi Gaming Commission’s controversial decision last December to grant RW Development site approval for a Biloxi casino on U.S. 90 at Veterans Avenue without a tidelands lease. The commission previously had denied RW site approval three times but it ultimately approved the site based on RW’s county and city leases.
Bill co-sponsor state Senator Brice Wiggins, a member of the Ports & Marine Resources Committee, said the bill now heads to the Senate floor. He said the RW decision “no doubt was the catalyst for this legislation, certainly for me. It was not the only reason.”
Blount told the Sun Herald that the bill “has been requested and supported by every single casino on the Gulf Coast.” However, according to Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, the legislation proposes “radical changes” in 100 laws, adding none of the cities or Harrison County were consulted.
“Biloxi has so much waterfront with so much potential, and under this bill one person in Jackson, now Secretary of State Michael Watson, would control it. The Secretary of State does not need to have a say in how we develop and manage our ports. Our track record is excellent, and we don’t need an additional layer of red tape.”
Over the years, Gilich has repeatedly criticized how tidelands funds are distributed. Biloxi casinos generate the majority of money paid into the tidelands fund each year; in 2023, $12.5 million was distributed to other Coastal cities for piers and public waterfront improvements.
Blount noted Biloxi is the only city on the Coast without a Tidelands lease or agreement with the secretary of state for its harbors. He said if the bill passes, Biloxi would be required to get the leases.
Blount said the bill does not limit competition and will not impact previously approved casino sites. “It does however, let casinos that are considering whether or not to make further investments on the Gulf Coast, know what the rules are going to be,” he told the Sun Herald.
Currently 17 legal casino sites have been approved on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
