Mississippi Sends Sports Betting Bill for Senate Say-So

Following a vote on the House floor on Thursday, the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act is a few steps from becoming a reality, bringing The Magnolia State into the fold of jurisdictions in the United States that have legalized or already launched their sports gambling framework.

Mississippi’s Sports Gambling Legalization Is Inevitable

Before lawmakers can pat themselves on the shoulder, though, a vote in the Senate remains to be cast. The House voted unanimously in favor of the bill, pushing it with 97-14 votes and giving the state its best chance to date to legalize sports gambling. There are financial imperatives that are making this seem more likely now than ever.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Casey Eure of Saucier, a Republican, has been able to put aside partisanship by finding a common denominator – tax revenue, which is estimated to grow by $25 million or $30 million if the bill passes successfully. Having the backing of politicians of all hues certainly helps, as it makes a rebuttal in the Senate seem less likely.

Should the bill clear the Senate, it would be levying a 12% tax on sports bets and sending 4% of this amount to the localities where a casino is located, with the other 8% earmarked for the state to do with as it pleases. It all sounds good on paper, but some red flags have been flagged, and this has to do with the fact that smaller casinos may not be particularly interesting to big betting platforms, leaving them out of the equation entirely.

The Ball Is in the Senate’s Court

However, most lawmakers agree that qualms they may, the passage of legalized online sports gambling in Mississippi will happen even if certain aspects of the final law contradict specific preferences on an individual level. The Senate will have to move next, and a win there will almost certainly see Republican Gov. Tate Reeves acquiesce to the passage of the bill if not only to ruffle his party’s feathers.

Meanwhile, Georgia and Virginia have both been making changes to their legislation about gambling. Georgia has passed a bill in the Senate to allow sports gambling, and Virginia is taking a harder look at skill games.