Back in February, the Mississippi Senate became the first state legislative chamber to vote in favor of a ban on sweepstakes casinos by a unanimous 51-0.
Senator Joey Fillingane proposed the bill primarily to address the issue of illegal, unlicensed casino games disguised as sweepstakes or promotional tools.
The bill looked to be gaining traction until an amendment. Rep. Casey Eure, chair of the House and Gaming Commission, added details related to online sports betting. It appears this addition saw the Senate reject the bill.
Mississippi’s gambling laws
The failure of the bill means sweepstakes casinos remain legal. This is defined as casinos that use virtual currencies or tokens to participate in casino gaming. Crypto casinos remain a gray area as they fall between sweepstakes casinos and online gambling.
Online gambling remains illegal. The bill proposed allowing retail casinos to partner with online sportsbooks with a 12% tax levy. The failure of the bill means that casino and sports betting is limited to brick-and-mortar sites.
The gaming industry is a big part of the state’s economy. In 2024, the gross gaming revenue generated by casinos amounted to $2.43billion. However, in February this year there was an 8% decline year-on-year. The total generated fell from $206.6million to $189.5million.
This decline may be the result of more players turning to alternative betting options online as laws fail to catch up with the rise in online betting.
Another failure for lawmakers
This is the latest of several failures in Mississippi to modernize its gambling legislation. HB1302 attempted to get a grip on online sports betting but similarly failed to advance in the Senate Gaming Committee.
Likewise, bills SB2733 and SB2740 both proposed legalizing online sports betting. Casinos opposed some of the conditions in the bills, and they both failed last year.
This year, SB2379 sought to establish the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act but did not progress beyond introduction.
The future of gambling legislation
There remain significant hurdles to overcome to get new laws into place. A range of stakeholders complicate the issue, particularly the current legal casinos that can accept sports betting on-site. Online betting may threaten their position but the current laws mean that sweepstakes casinos and similar products can go under the radar.
This bill perhaps took on too much with the double-edged sword of banning sweepstakes casinos yet legalizing online sports betting. Lawmakers will surely go back to the drawing table and propose future bills that address the issues.
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