Mobile sports betting could be on its way to Mississippi in 2022.
Biloxi TV station WLOX recently reported that the Mississippi House Gaming Committee is working on creating legislation which would bring mobile betting to the Magnolia State. Casey Eure, the chair of the House Gaming Committee, hopes to bring a bill to his committee by Jan. 1, 2022, aiming to give the state more than just its current retail sports betting options.
The Mississippi legislature begins its 2022 legislative session on Jan. 4 and is set to adjourn on April 3, 2022.
“My plans are to pass something out of my committee,” Eure told WLOX. “If the House and Senate pass a mobile sports betting app bill and Gov. Tate Reeves signs it, the Mississippi Gaming Commission can then include online wagering in its regulations.”
Digital sportsbooks would be tethered
Eure plans to include language in his bill that prevents mobile sports betting companies from launching standalone sportsbooks in the state. He’ll allow existing retail locations to also launch mobile offerings, and outside operators can partner with Mississippi casinos.
Tethering online sportsbooks to physical locations wouldn’t be unique to Mississippi. Other states, like Michigan, include such requirements. Mississippi lawmakers like Eure argue that the brick-and-mortar casinos have made an investment in the state and deserve a share of profits from mobile options.
“I want to make sure we can protect our bricks and mortar,” Eure told WLOX. “If they want to team up with DraftKings and FanDuel, that’s fine.”
Bringing mobile betting to the state would move Mississippi in line with some of its neighbors. Tennessee has offered legal mobile sports betting since Nov. 1, 2020, while mobile sports betting is expected in Louisiana, which recently launched the retail version, in 2022.
Louisiana launched a handful of retail locations on Nov. 1. Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles and DraftKings jointly opened a retail sportsbook on Wednesday. Another Lake Charles riverboat casino opened a sportsbook that day as well, and that location will become a Barstool Sportsbook in 2022.
After Hurricane Ida delayed the sports betting licensure process earlier this year, Louisiana has moved quickly to allow operators opportunities to launch sportsbooks.
It's official! @DraftKings Sportsbook is now open at Golden Nugget Lake Charles! Place wagers on professional sports with real-time odds, point spreads and over/unders. pic.twitter.com/jyyKvAp4zU
— Golden Nugget LC (@GoldenNuggetLC) November 10, 2021
Mississippi currently offers retail sports betting, and BetMGM recently launched a geofenced mobile app that can be used by those onsite at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage Casino. Gold Strike Casino Resort does the same, allowing users to place bets onsite via BetMGM’s mobile app.
Interesting note: @BeauBiloxi now has mobile sports betting for customers on site so they don't need to stand in line. Mississippi law restricts mobile betting anywhere else. (When it goes live in Louisiana, you'll be able to do it anywhere in the 55 parishes that approved it.)
— Zach Ewing (@zewing) November 10, 2021
