According to the Mississippi Gaming Commission, for the first full month of sports betting, August 1-31 not including Labor Day weekend, the state took in $7.7 million in handle with gross taxable revenue of $644,489. The handle includes futures wagers made; taxable revenue does not include futures bets since many remain undecided.
Sportsbooks at Mississippi’s coastal casinos from Bay St. Louis to the Biloxi took in $4,363,799, the highest amount of bets. Statewide, most were made on baseball ($3,326,580), followed by football ($2,388,273) and parlay cards ($1,518,973). About $116,000 in basketball bets and $$346,000 on other sports bets also were made.
Mississippi Gaming Commission executive director Allen Godfrey said total handle for August 1 through September 3 was $9.8 million, meaning bettors wagered about $3.5 million in just the first three days of September, or more than half of the total handle from August. The year-to-date handle through September 8 was $16.3 million.
MGC Deputy Director Jay McDaniel said, “The Mississippi Gaming Commission has been very pleased with the operations at our sportsbooks to date. The August revenue numbers were about what we expected, and the $7.7 million of handle is very encouraging. As you know, we have 20 casino operators that have sportsbooks running now, but they were not all open the entire month of August, so we expect September revenue to be greater.” He said the MGC projected the September sports betting total could be $25-$30 million, with casinos winning 6-7 percent of wagers.
McDaniel added casino officials hope the addition of sports betting will bring more money in from gamblers staying in casino hotels and eating in restaurants. McDaniel said after September, the MGC plans to analyze whether sports betting is affecting other revenue, and by how much.
The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and Gold Strike Casino in Tunica took the state’s first sports bets on August 1. Only 11 of the state’s 28 casinos offered sports betting in August and most only for part of the month. Fifteen more sportsbooks opened August 17 or later.
According to the MGC report, sportsbooks’ hold was slightly over 10 percent. The hold in Nevada typically is around 5 percent. In August, New Jersey sportsbooks kept about 9.6 percent and in July, Delaware sportsbooks held 6.4 percent of wagers.
Mississippi taxes sports betting at 12 percent, meaning the first full month of sports betting brought in $77,000. The state keeps 8 percent and 4 percent goes to local governments.
For now, Mississippi sportsbooks only are allowed to offer mobile betting on-premises, regulated by geofencing around the properties.
Sports betting also is available at the Choctaw-owned Golden Moon Casino sportsbook. The Mississippi Gaming Commission does not regulate tribal casinos or their sportsbooks.
Mississippi was the third state behind Delaware and New Jersey to offer sports betting.
