A bill legalizing online sports betting and prohibiting online sweepstakes in Mississippi is heading to a conference committee.
The Senate declined to concur to changes made in the House to Sen. Joey Fillingane’s Senate Bill 2510, which initially passed the Senate by a 51-0 vote. Fillingane’s legislation would alter penalties for offering illegal online gambling in the state and explicitly prohibit online sweepstakes.
Once the bill was in the House, Rep. Casey Eure amended it to include his online Mississippi sports betting language, which had previously died in the Senate.
To conference it goes
Legislation prohibiting online sweepstakes operators has appeared in multiple states. The Mississippi Senate was the first chamber in the US to pass such legislation.
Despite passing the initial legislation unanimously, the Senate declined to accept the sports betting language. In the past, the Mississippi Senate has been sensitive to the concerns of locally owned casinos and how they might be negatively affected by expanding gambling online.
Now, the bill heads to a conference committee, with the Senate represented by Fillingane, Sen. Mike Thompson and Sen. David Blount. The House conferees are Eure, Rep. Jay McKnight and Rep. Brent Anderson.
Sweepstakes operators disappointed
When SB 2510 initially passed the Senate, the Social & Promotional Games Association expressed disappointment in the legislation.
“This bill not only misrepresents the nature of sweepstakes gaming — an established and consumer-friendly model — but also sets a troubling precedent by equating these operations with illicit gambling,” a statement read.
“Rather than enacting punitive measures that reduce innovation and consumer choice, we urge lawmakers to consider a regulatory approach that enshrines transparency and consumer protections while allowing Mississippi adults to continue enjoying the fun, fair, and free-to-play games offered by social sweepstakes operators.”
Mississippi sports betting tennis
Lawmakers legalized in-person Mississippi sports betting in 2018. Despite multiple attempts since then, the industry has failed to expand online.
In 2023, a Mobile Online Sports Betting Task Force looked into the industry and helped inform the last two sports betting expansion attempts. Last year, Eure led a bill through the House that the Senate ultimately killed.
This year, Eure attempted to address the Senate’s concerns from last year. Still, it did not act on his bill that passed the House 88-10.
Eure’s changes to sports betting
Eure’s legislation this year would allow casinos to partner with up to two sportsbook platforms rather than one.
It also aims to help the state’s smaller casinos by creating a $6 million annual fund to offset potential losses. That fund would come from the 12% tax on sports betting revenue.
