Mississippi Online Sports Betting Ready for Conference Committee

A Mississippi online sports betting bill is headed to a conference committee featuring members of the state House and Senate.

The Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act (HB 774), sponsored by Rep. Casey Eure (R-116), had all of its sports betting verbiage removed by a Senate gaming committee last week. It was then advanced to the Senate floor, where it was opened for further discussion.

Senators voted 36-15 to pass a reconsideration motion on the bill. The bill now seems destined for a conference committee, where it will be reworked and eventually reintroduced to the Senate pending agreement from the committee members.

Mississippi allows in-person sports betting but, unlike several of its neighboring states, does not authorize online sports betting sites outside of casino grounds. 

Committee chairman and Senator David Blount (D-29) said HB 774 was stripped of sports betting to help progress the bill through the chambers.

“If people are talking, it’s a good thing,” said Blount. “We want to continue to let them do that. We want to continue to move the bill along.

“There are a lot of issues that we need to consider, from the perspective of the industry and also from the perspective of the consumer, that we will do if we get to the point where we might be able to get something done this year. In the meantime, we don’t want to stop people from listening to each other and working.” 

Eure’s bill was written to allow all 26 Mississippi casinos to partner with one online operator with no limit on how many casino partners each operator could have. For example, FanDuel could partner with three casinos, but the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi could not have three sportsbook partners.

The bill was approved in the Senate on Tuesday, the same day a motion to reconsider was proposed. Blount suggested postponing the motion until Thursday, which was accepted.

Blount is anticipating the House will request a conference featuring members from both chambers—if they do, those representatives will have until the end of the legislative session on May 5 to meet and discuss the final language of the bill.

According to the House’s version of HB 774, there is no limit on the number of licenses that would be available to sports betting operators. Anywhere from 1-26 operators would be able to achieve licensing after securing a casino partnership and pending regulatory approval.

The bill would impose a tier-based tax system organized by each legal sportsbook’s gross gaming revenue (GGR). 

Operators would be taxed four percent of their monthly GGR below $50,000, six percent between $50,000-133,999, and eight percent at or exceeding $134,000. They would be charged another four percent of their GGR to help replenish the state’s Road and Bridge Repair Fund. 

Sportsbooks would not pay more than 12 percent of their adjusted gross gaming revenue to Mississippi. Estimates suggest that Mississippi could gain anywhere between $25-35 million in annual stimulus. 

The extra funding would go a long way toward helping Mississippi, which had the lowest nominal GDP per capita of any state in 2022.

Although there are no major-league sports teams in Mississippi, it is part of a region in the country that is heavily invested in college sports. Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss are prominent universities that would offer large intrigue for bettors, along with nearby powerhouses Alabama, Georgia, and LSU, among others.

Mississippi law authorizes betting on in-state colleges and universities—however, it does not allow betting on college player props or live betting. 

Mississippi legalized retail sports betting shortly after the national ban was lifted in 2018. It also allows Daily Fantasy Sports despite its prohibition on online sportsbooks.