Mississippi House Passes Two Amended Sports Betting Bills

• The Mississippi House of Representatives passed two amended Senate bills that include online sports betting
• The Senate bills were amended by the House Gaming Committee to include online sports betting language
• The fate of online sports betting is now fully in the hands of the Senate

Two amended Mississippi sports betting bills were approved by a vast majority in the House of Representatives this week. That’s good! However, the fate of Mississippi sports betting is now fully in the hands of the Senate, which has shown no appetite this session for approval. That’s bad!

The Mississippi House of Representatives approved both SB 2381 and SB 2510, two Senate amended bills that includes the language of the previously House approved online sports betting bill, HB 1302.

The House Gaming Committee last week inserted the language of the legislation into the Senate bills as a procedural move to keep online sports betting alive ahead of the April 6 session deadline.

Sports Betting Alive, but on Life Support

The Mississippi House of Representatives approved by Senate amended bills by a large margin, with SB 2381 passed by a 107-3 vote and SB 2510 by an 83-19 vote. The Mississippi House has long been a proponent of expanded sports betting in the state, but efforts have been stymied by the Senate over the past two years.

According to the Sun Herald, Mississippi Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount (D-29) does not support online sports betting and will not bring the measure to committee for a vote.

Fear of online sports betting cannibalization and its effect on revenues for brick-and-mortar casinos in the state have led to stalled discussions in the Senate.

The Senate did not take up Rep. Casey Eure’s (R-116) original online sports betting bill, HB 1302, forcing the House Gaming Committee to include its language in the Senate bills to ensure discussions continued this session.

Eure has been the driving force in the House for online sports betting over the last two years. He made significant changes to his 2025 bill to appease both Senate and Mississippi retail casino concerns after the issued failed in 2024.

His bill earmarks $6 million annually to a new Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund. The fund will allow casinos who choose to not partner with an online sports betting operators to apply for a portion of revenue from the fund. The Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund will receive $6 million annually through 2030.

Any additional revenue over the $6 million threshold will be placed in the state’s road and bridge repair fund.

His 2025 bill also increased the number of potential online sports betting partners for the state’s 26 commercial dockside and land-based casinos from one to two.

Launch No Later Than Dec. 8, 2025

The bill sets a universal launch date of no later than Dec. 8, 2025.

The bill includes a tiered tax system for adjusted sports betting revenue as follows:

• 4% of gross revenue not surpassing $50,000 per month
• 6% of gross revenue that surpasses $50,000, but does not surpass $134,000 per month
• 8% of gross revenue that surpasses $134,000 per month

Each operator will also have to pay an additional 4% in gross revenue into the road and bridge repair fund. Operators would have to pay a maximum of 12% in adjusted gross revenue to the state depending on their revenue each month.