First Mississippi Online Sports Betting Bill Introduced for Session

Nov 18, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) passes the ball during the first half against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY SportsA Mississippi online sports betting bill was introduced last weekThe legislation would allow gaming license holders to offer online sports bettingLicense holders would be able to partner with sports betting operators

The first Mississippi online sports betting bill, and likely not the last this session, was introduced in the Magnolia State last week.

Rep. Cedric Burnett (D-9) introduced bill HB 271 to the House of Representatives last week. The bill, which will legalize online sports betting for gaming license holders, was referred to the House gaming and appropriations committees.

Online sports betting is technically legal in the state, but is only available on properties of licensed casinos.

Mississippi’s Online Sports Betting Push Begins

This was the first Mississippi online sports betting bill to be introduced during the session, which began earlier this month. Burnett’s bill will allow casinos and “licensed gaming establishments” to offer online sports betting either through their own platform or through a partnership with a sports betting operator, such as DraftKings or FanDuel.

There are currently 28 commercial dockside and land-based casinos in Mississippi. Under this bill, each of these casinos would be eligible to offer online sports betting throughout the state. Retail sports betting has been legal in Mississippi since August 2018.

The bill features an interesting tiered tax rate model that will be based on monthly gross sports betting revenue brought in by licensed holders. Here are the following rates per monthly gross sports betting revenue, according to the legislation:

4% of gross revenue not surpassing $50,000 per month6% of gross revenue that surpasses $50,000, but does not surpass $134,000 per month8% of gross revenue that surpasses $134,000 per month

If the bill is approved, it will go into effect on July 1, 2024, giving Mississippi regulators a handful of months to bring online sports betting off the ground prior to the start of NFL and college football in  September.

This will likely not be the only bill introduced to the state legislature. Rep. Casey Eure (R) revealed at the state’s first sports task force meeting in October that he will be introducing an online sports betting bill this session. Eure introduced an online sports betting bill last year, HB 606, which was amended and passed to simply create the Mississippi mobile-sports betting task force to investigate the impact of online sports betting on the state.

Mississippi Sports Betting Task Force Estimates Millions in Revenue

A 13-member Mississippi Sports Betting Task Force met three times at the end of 2023 to explore the possibility of online sports betting legalization in the state. The task forced heard public comment from local casino owners, sports betting operators, and politicians over the course of its three meetings.

At the end of December, the task force revealed its 95-page report, estimating the state could see upwards of $27.1 million in tax revenue by FY 2029.

The 13-member task forced presented several potential revenue models if online sports betting were to be legalized this year. Mississippi currently institutes an 8% tax rate on retail sports betting gross revenue totals. The task force estimated that an 8% tax on gross online sports revenue, which is the top-tier rate in Burnett’s bill, would increase sports betting tax revenues from $5.1 million in FY 2025 to $12.6 million in FY 2029.

Not all members of the task force were on board with the idea of online sports betting legalization. Several members of the task force, particularly those associated with retail casinos, expressed concerns  that online sports betting will harm their business.

Michael Bruffey, task force representative for Island View Casino Resort, wrote that stand-alone Mississippi casino operators have concerns over online gaming and “large corporations based outside of Mississippi assertion positions in favor of online gaming.”

“The Mississippi gaming market operates on low margins. Anything that will reduce or lessen our revenues will harm our businesses and it will harm Mississippi. To state it succinctly, statewide online sports betting will reduce our revenue, it will reduce jobs, and it will harm Mississippi,” he wrote.