The state of Mississippi has yet to legalise online sports betting, while retail betting activities at brick-and-mortar casinos have been legal since 2018. The lawmakers are pushing for July 2024 as the official start date for legal online betting activities if the proposed house bill becomes law.
House Bill 271
Democratic Rep. Cedric Burnett brought forward House Bill 271, which created a Mobile-Online Sports Betting Task Force when it was introduced in early 2023. The bill aims to legalise online sports betting before the football season of 2024 through digital platforms that could be operated by casinos that are already licensed in Mississippi, like DraftKings or FanDuel.
So far, the Bill has been blocked by some local retail casinos even though the majority supports the legalisation, as they will be given a chance to provide online sports betting services. The Bill proposes a tiered taxation system based on monthly gross revenue:
- 4% tax rate for companies with gross revenue not exceeding $50,000 per month
- 6% tax rate on gross revenue that is over $50,000 but doesn’t exceed $134,000 monthly
- 8% tax rate for companies generating gross revenue that exceeds $134,000 a month
Secure Online Betting for the Residents of the Magnolia State
The residents of Mississippi have attempted to bet online by accessing operators that work legally in other states, but the geolocation technology prevented them from doing so, indicated GeoComply, a company in charge of geolocation services for online sportsbooks. The same technology will allow the state government to have insight into the benefits online betting can bring to the state.
Mobile-Online Sports Betting Task Force indicated the following in its Final Report:
Significant growth would likely be spurred by the adoption of online sports betting, the addition of retail sports betting locations near new population centres, interest/growth in new sports to place bets (e.g., e-sports), or a federal effort to stop illegal sports betting.
When compared to other states of similar size and population number, Mississippi is making a lot less in tax, and that’s the main argument the task force and Rep. Cedric Burnett have to push the Bill until it becomes law.
“Because of Mississippi’s existing casino market, Mississippi already has 16 casino owners who could potentially establish online sportsbooks. Several of these owners operate in other states (e.g., MGM, Penn, Boyd Gaming, Bally’s, Ceasars) and likely would be able to offer online sports betting once any additional licensing and permitting requirements were met.” the report indicated.
