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An attempt to legalize sports betting in Mississippi has come to an end following legislative disagreements in the Senate.
The highly debated Senate Bill 2510 was introduced by Sen. Joey Fillingane and aimed to clarify definitions of illegal online gambling and explicitly prohibited online sweepstakes casinos.
It passed the Mississippi Senate in February with a unanimous 51-0 vote. However, the Mississippi House of Representatives made amendments in March to include provisions for online sports betting, and this led to significant conflicts between the two chambers.
The House approved the revised version, but the Senate declined to accept the changes, leading to the establishment of a conference committee. Unfortunately, the bill did not survive this final stage.
The confirmation of the legislation’s failure came late on March 31, when the Mississippi legislature’s website indicated that SB 2510 did not advance from the conference committee.
Another Failed Attempt for Mississippi
The ongoing legislative battle over online sports betting in Mississippi has once again ended in disappointment. Despite several years of efforts, previous attempts to legalize online sports wagering have struggled to gain traction, and this latest move was no exception.
Concerns among lawmakers about the potential impact on the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos, which are critical sources of revenue and employment, have consistently hindered progress.
Last year’s effort, led by Rep. Eure, also faced hurdles, with his previous bill dying in the Senate after passing the House with strong support. His proposal aimed to provide casinos with two licenses for online betting and establish a Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund to allocate $6 million annually to support smaller casinos.
However, these efforts were met with resistance, as critics feared that larger sportsbook operators would primarily partner with bigger casinos, potentially sidelining smaller establishments.
The bill also carried strict penalties for operating illegal wagering platforms, including hefty fines and prison sentences. Despite the potential for Mississippi to gain an estimated $25 million in annual revenue from online sports betting, the combined issues of online sweeps regulations and the late-stage integration of sports wagering ultimately proved too complex to navigate.
“To link bills together when the topics are not related is not the way the legislature should work,” Blount said of his refusal to add online sports betting to the sweeps ban,” said David Blount, the Chair of the Senate Gaming Committee.
Blount has also stated that his committee would not consider online sports betting unless it gets a request from the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC), a request that’s yet to arrive.
A Win for Online Sweepstakes Casinos
The failure of Senate Bill 2510 represents a significant victory for online sweepstakes casinos, which were intended to be targeted by the legislation. While the bill had sought to impose stricter regulations and ban these unlicensed operators, its collapse means that such establishments continue to operate without the threat of new legal penalties.
Despite this setback, the state still retains the ability to take action against sweepstakes operators, potentially issuing cease-and-desist letters to stop their activities.
Mississippi is not the only state that has made a move against online sweepstakes this year. States like Florida, Maryland, Arkansas, New York, and New Jersey have also introduced legislation this year to ban these operators.
For instance, New Jersey’s Assembly Bill A5447 has recently garnered additional support, while New York Senator Joseph Addabbo has seen his SB S9226 prompt several sweepstakes operators, including High 5 Casino and Hello Millions, to announce their plans to exit the state.
In the meantime, legal sports betting is still available in Mississippi, with residents allowed to place wagers in person at any of the state’s 26 commercial casinos.
Source: Next.io
