Mississippi Fumbles Ball on Mobile Sports Betting For 2024

Residents will have to wait longer to access Mississippi’s mobile sports betting platform after legislators failed to reach an agreement by the Monday deadline. The hopes for a 2024 launch have been dashed due to the fumbled negotiations among conference committee members.

The deadline for the conference committee report on the feasibility of expansion plans was Monday. Lawmakers have been at odds throughout the process, but there was still hope that they could reach a consensus and introduce Mississippi sports betting sites this year. However, Monday’s events, or lack thereof, have cast doubt on this optimism.

As the current legislative session in Mississippi draws to a close on Sunday, the likelihood of passing House Bill 774 to expand the state’s retail sports betting platform, including mobile apps, is extremely low.

What House Bill 774 proposed

House Bill 774 aimed to significantly increase the availability of legal sports betting options for Mississippi residents. The bill proposed granting up to 30 mobile sports betting licenses, with each of the state’s 26 retail casinos eligible to apply.

The Bill suggested a tax rate of 12%, aiming to bring in approximately $35 million each year to support infrastructure improvements for roads and bridges in the state.

In February, the proposal was approved by a 97-14 vote in the House of Representatives before being forwarded to the Senate. However, all references to mobile sports sites were controversially removed from the bill in the Senate.

Senator David Blount, who chairs the gaming committee, stated that the amendment passed by the committee does not alter existing laws. He clarified that it does not reflect the Senate’s stance on the matter, but rather indicates a commitment to further discussions and input from residents statewide.

The Senate’s stance led to the establishment of a conference committee with the goal of fostering the dialogue that Blount and his colleagues had been seeking to reach a compromise on the issue.

The discussion failed to progress into a meaningful conversation, and the idea suddenly came to a halt in the conference committee.

So…

In Mississippi, sports betting will still be allowed, but it must take place in person at a physical location or on the premises of a licensed casino. Starting in 2024, online betting from home will no longer be permitted in the Magnolia State.

The possibility of a legal sports betting platform in Mississippi is not completely off the table. The state’s sports betting task force will persist in their efforts to advocate for the platform, sharing their thorough research on its benefits.

Legislators, along with the general public, have expressed a desire to broaden the reach of legal sports betting in Mississippi. According to data from GeoComply Solutions Inc., Mississippi residents made 1.7 million attempts to access mobile sportsbooks in neighboring states over a two-month period during the last football season.

For now, illegal offshore sites will keep profiting due to the absence of a legal mobile sports betting platform within the state. According to Rep. Casey Eure, Mississippi holds the top spot for illegal online sports betting nationwide. This trend is likely to persist in the coming years.