In a significant move, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted on Monday to approve House Bill 1302, a proposal aimed at legalizing mobile sports betting in the state. The bill, which passed with overwhelming support at 88-10, marks a renewed push to establish regulated online sports betting in Mississippi after previous attempts faltered. The latest iteration of the bill has been revised to address concerns raised in the previous year, with modifications aimed at both expanding opportunities for casinos and ensuring protections for smaller establishments.

Revised bill aims to address concerns of small casinos:

The proposed legislation seeks to permit individuals aged 21 and older to place sports bets from mobile devices, aligning the state’s laws with an expanding trend of online sports betting across the U.S. Currently, while sports betting is legal in Mississippi’s physical casinos, mobile sports betting remains prohibited. This loophole has led to a thriving underground market, with many residents turning to illegal online platforms. House Gaming Chairman Rep. Casey Eure, R-Saucier, has been at the forefront of efforts to pass mobile sports betting laws, citing Mississippi’s position as a leader in illegal online sports betting searches and the substantial tax revenue being lost to neighboring states.

“Our neighboring states, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina, are generating millions in tax revenue from mobile sports betting,” Eure explained in a House floor speech, as reported by Mississippi Today. “Yet Mississippi continues to lose out on that revenue, despite being at the forefront of illegal betting.”

As proposed, the bill would tax mobile sports wagers at a rate of 12%. The revenue generated would be used to fund road and bridge repairs throughout the state’s 82 counties. This funding would help offset the tax revenue Mississippi is losing to illegal betting platforms and the state’s failure to legalize online sports gambling. Proponents argue that legalizing mobile sports betting would help curb the illegal market, as those seeking to place bets would be encouraged to use regulated, brick-and-mortar casinos.

Key modifications to the bill address Senate concerns:

House Bill 1302 includes several key changes aimed at making it more palatable to all stakeholders, particularly the Senate. One major adjustment allows each casino to partner with two mobile sports betting platforms instead of just one. This change is meant to prevent larger casinos from cornering the market, a concern voiced by lawmakers during last year’s debate over the issue. The goal is to ensure that smaller casinos also benefit from the legislation.

Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, expressed concerns that the new bill would still leave smaller casinos at a disadvantage, as the law does not require platforms like FanDuel or DraftKings to partner with specific casinos. “You talk about partners, but there is nothing that says FanDuel or ESPN has to partner with any particular casino,” Johnson argued. “They just have to partner with a casino in the state of Mississippi.”

To address these concerns, the revised bill includes a provision that would create a $6 million fund designed to support casinos that might experience financial losses in the early years following the legalization of mobile sports betting, according to Biloxi Sun Herald. This fund would be replenished annually and could be accessed by casinos facing revenue losses as a result of competition with larger gaming establishments.

Another significant change in the latest version of the bill is the inclusion of provisions to prevent gambling addiction. For example, the bill prohibits the use of credit cards for placing mobile sports bets, a measure aimed at safeguarding vulnerable individuals from falling into deeper financial difficulties. Instead, bettors would be required to use debit cards, PayPal, or other alternative methods of payment.

Opposition remains, Senate review awaits:

While the House has passed the bill with considerable backing, its future in the Senate is uncertain. Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount, D-Jackson, has expressed reservations about the impact of mobile sports betting on Mississippi’s broader gambling industry. Blount cautioned that mobile sports betting does not contribute to tourism or attract new investments in the state, key objectives of Mississippi’s gaming laws.

Blount pointed out, “The reason we have gaming in the state is for tourism, to bring new people to the state, to encourage investment in the form of hotels and amenities to grow the economy, and to support the jobs of the tens of thousands of people. Mobile sports betting doesn’t do any of that.”

Despite these concerns, supporters of the bill believe the shift toward legalizing mobile sports betting could be an economic boon for Mississippi. If the bill makes it through the Senate, it would join the ranks of the 31 states, plus Washington D.C., that have already embraced online sports betting.

For now, the bill awaits further deliberation in the Senate, where its fate remains to be determined. However, for many in the House, the vote represents a necessary step toward modernizing Mississippi’s gambling laws and capturing much-needed tax revenue from an industry that is already thriving, albeit illegally, in the state.