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Mississippi House approves bill to legalize online sports betting


Online sports betting is about to be legalized, and the latest move brings the final results closer than ever. On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Mississippi House of Representatives approved legislation that would lead to the legalization of online sports betting.

Mobile Sports Bet Ahead Of Live In Mississippi:

Currently, online sports betting is legal in 29 U.S. states, with Mississippi about to join the club.

The Mississippi Mobile Sports Betting Act passed the bill with a 97-14 vote in favor of legalization. The law would allow gambling companies to provide mobile sports betting services while adhering to offline facilities. Despite retail sports betting being legalized for years, authorities withdrew the legalization of online services due to concerns that online betting could negatively impact the state's casino industry.

Casey Eure of Saucier, the Republican leader and a major sponsor of the bill, agreed with the Game Commission's expectation that online sports betting could bring in $25 to $35 million in tax revenue each year. Mississippi missed the opportunity to add the money to its fund because the illegal sports betting market is booming.

In Mississippi alone, about $3 billion is generated by illegal betting on a yearly basis. About $64 billion in illegal betting is made in the United States every year, Eure says, because it accounts for 5% of the total illegal market.

He presented the plan to lawmakers, and the first version of the bill proposed a 12 percent tax rate on online sports betting. The state will receive 8 percent of that amount, and the remaining 4 percent will go to areas with casinos. However, the authorities decided after the revision that the state would use all 12 percent of the money to repair emergency roads and bridges.

Concern and Doubt:

House Minority Leader Robert Johnson of Natchez is concerned about the partnerships that must take place to build a healthy environment for the industry to thrive. His main concern is that gambling platforms want to partner with small casinos instead of the famous Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos, and he has proposed new amendments to ensure casinos have their share of the revenue as well.

According to an Associated Press report, he said, "The only people who make money are one or two people who have signed a contract. The money from the platform that you bet on in Mississippi does not go to all casinos in Mississippi. It goes to the casinos that have signed a contract."

Republicans have not approved the amendment, but Johnson is confident that mobile sports betting will soon become legal.