Mississippi’s House has approved the state’s online sports betting bill by a vote of 89-11. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

House in favor, again

The Mississippi House of Representatives has approved Rep. Casey Eure’s (R-116) online sports betting bill by a vote of 89-11. 

Mississippians may well point to 2024 as a reason for not getting over excited

While HB 1302 veritably sailed through the GOP-controlled House earlier this week, Mississippians may well point to 2024 as a reason for not getting over excited. 

The House passed last year’s version of the online sports betting bill 97-14 and, despite the Senate’s eventual nod, concerns over the impact on existing commercial casinos effectively killed it.

Could this just be Mississippi’s year, however, with the 2025 bill addressing the casino issue and a return to a pro-gambling Republican government?

What’s different this time?

Eure’s HB 1302 has gone some way in addressing previous casino cannibalization issues. 

The lawmaker’s 2025 bill includes an annual $6m Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund. Casinos electing against entering online sports betting partnerships can, according to regulatory journalist Robert Linnehan, “apply for a portion of revenue from the fund.”

Eure wrote in the 2025 bill that, essentially, licensed gaming firms and casinos without online tie-ups “may apply for a portion of the funds” until 2030.

applicable licensees will receive a share of the $6m fund

Eure’s bill added that the applicable licensees will receive a share of the $6m fund annually if they meet the requirement. Which Eure stated is if their: “total annual sports wagering revenue is below the total annual retail sports wagering revenue the same licensed gaming establishment without a platform received in 2024.”

According to media reports, any additional revenue coined by online sports betting will go to Mississippi’s road and bridge repair fund.

Guessing game

The casino fund was not the only addition to the 2025 bill that passed the House this week. HB 1302 also comes with an inclusion that instead of only one online sports betting partner, Mississippi’s 26 commercial dockside and land-based casinos can now engage two. 

While bricks-and-mortar sportsbooks have operated in Mississippi as early as August 2018, efforts to legalize the online vertical have proved a major challenge. 

The 2024 bill that passed the House and Senate died after smaller casinos expressed their concerns over sportsbooks perhaps not wanting to partner them. An amended bill filed for consideration in the two chambers failed to pass before the legislature’s midnight deadline.

With the Governor of Texas Greg Abbott recently backing online sports betting and the return of Donald Trump, Mississippi bettors will hope the winds of change blow in their favor this year.