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Mississippi Takes the 4th Shot at Legalising Online Sports Betting
By Jeff Osienya Jan 08, 2022 LegalityMississippi legislators are readying themselves for a fourth attempt at legalizing online and mobile sports betting. Lawmakers are keen to ensure that retail sportsbooks don’t suffer from internet-based competition.Mississippi Representative of the 9th District, Cedric Burnett, has once again tabled a proposal to legalize online sports betting in the state. This year’s measure was tabled on January 4th to the House Gaming, and the Ways and Means Committees, under House Bill 184. Burnett previously proposed House Bill 1481 and 172 in 2019 and 2020, respectively, which were both turned down by the house.
A similar bill (Senate Bill 2396) was also presented to Senator Scott DeLane in 2021 but was dismissed as well. Currently, Mississippi laws allow for online sports betting, but the players still have to visit a land-based casino to place their wagers. The new bill would allow punters to bet on sports events with licensed digital platforms over the internet from any location using mobile devices.
Fourth Time’s the Charm?
There is a lot of expectation from the latest proposal especially given that neighboring Louisiana has just legalized online sports betting by clearing six sportsbooks to start accepting bets. In addition, Tennessee was quick to take advantage of the online sports betting market in November 2020, and Arkansas is holding discussions around the subject before final approval.
The most logical step for the Mississippi House is to pass online sports betting laws this year. Following the 2018 Supreme Court’s ruling to revoke the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, which violated the 10th Amendment, the Magnolia State was among the first states to legalize sports betting. However, while the number of states moving to regulate and authorize online sports betting has been on the rise, Mississippi has been hesitant to include it in its gambling laws.
Even though they are already late to the party, Mississippian legislators seem to have finally realized that a lot more online gambling revenue will be lost if the decision is not made sooner. Better late than never, right?
Back in January 2021, after proposing Senate Bill 2732, State Senator Philip Moran commented:
Quote“Every day, millions of Americans in 15 states have access to state-of-the-art mobile sportsbooks, allowing them to place bets on their favorite teams and leagues at home while fostering much-needed tax revenue. Unfortunately, Mississippi law does not authorize online sports betting, but this bill seeks to change that. Mississippi has been leaving money on the table by not authorizing online sports wagering, and it is time to modernize Mississippi’s gambling offerings and do what’s best for Mississippians.”
Putting Retail Sportsbooks First
One of the main reasons for the consistent shutdown of any bills proposing that mobile sports betting be legalized is the fear that it will hurt the revenue streams of land-based sportsbooks. To that effect, House Gaming Committee chair Rep. Casey Eure – who also filled another bill to push the agenda further, has been particularly keen on the matter. He plans to ensure that if online sports betting is okayed in Mississippi, all mobile sportsbooks operating in the state will be required to partner with Mississippi casinos.
His concern is that the casinos that have an extensive real estate portfolio worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the area will suffer if they aren’t placed in a position to profit from mobile sports betting. Therefore, according to Eure, his bill will contain a caveat that requires online sports betting platforms to invest in the brick-and-mortar casinos in Mississippi before being approved. To that end, some operators have already signed partnership agreements with casinos in the state, and hence they will be able to hit the ground running if the bill is passed.
However, it is still unclear whether the casinos will be restricted to partnering with one operator each. But then, in a November 2021 interview with WTOK, Eure said:
Quote“When we pass mobile sports betting, we’ll do it the right way. I want to make sure we can protect our bricks and mortar. If they want to team up with DraftKings and FanDuel, that’s fine.”
It is Time for Action
As with many other US states, Covid-19 affected revenue streams across multiple sectors in Mississippi, including its retail sports betting scene. As a result, sports fans were forced to stick to state-imposed restrictions to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. However, for the US states where online and mobile sports betting was legalized, players actively switched to internet-based alternatives to retail sportsbooks to bet on their favorite sporting events. Subsequently, the said states have since been reaping the benefits, and the momentum doesn’t seem like it will slow down any time soon.
With the potential revenue windfall in their sights, a good number of the 50 states have jumped into the bandwagon of legalizing online and mobile sports betting. Moreover, even the initially adamant states like New York were forced to rethink their approach towards recovering from the Covid-19 slump and launched regulated internet sports betting.
Regrettably, Mississippi remains one of the handful states that are still making multiple attempts to convince legislators and voters to pass proposed sports betting expansion bills without any success. Whatever the case, Mississippi legislators should borrow a leaf from other US states where retail sports betting is thriving despite having a booming online and mobile sports betting market. With taxation expected to range from 4% to 8% depending on how much revenue the operator makes, The Magnolia State is poised for lucrative wins for its tax coffers upon market maturity.
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