JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mobile sports betting will remain illegal in Mississippi after legislative negotiators were unable to advance a final proposal Monday.
House of Representatives and Senate version passed of Mississippi Mobile Sports Betting Law early in the state Legislature. The bill would allow Mississippi to join 30 other states where mobile sports betting is legal. Sports betting has been allowed in the state for years, but online betting remains illegal amid concerns it could hurt the state’s casino revenues.
To allay the concerns of casinos and lawmakers who represent areas where gambling is big business, the bill would require gambling companies to contract with brick-and-mortar stores.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Republican Rep. Casey Eure of Saucier, said estimates suggest it could bring in more than $25 million a year in tax revenue to Mississippi. Legalization would also reduce the influence of illegal offshore sports betting platforms in Mississippi, according to data presented by lawmakers. Mississippi leads the nation in Google searches for illegal online sports betting.
During consideration of the bill, some lawmakers expressed concern that gambling platforms would not have an incentive to partner with smaller casinos and that most of the money would instead flow to already busy casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
A small group of negotiators had until Monday night to submit a final proposal for consideration by the full Congress. That deadline passed without a final version for lawmakers to consider.
___ Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.please follow him @mikergoldberg.
