Sid Salter
- Columnist Sid Salter says Mississippi’s overall gaming revenue has declined each fiscal year since FY22 and is tracking to decline again this year.
Among other bones of contention between the Mississippi House and Senate during the 2025 regular session was the issue of mobile online sports betting. As it did in 2024, the issue died an ignominious death in a conference committee that could not reach consensus on a Senate-approved bill prohibiting so-called “sweepstakes” gaming that had mobile online sports gaming tacked on as a Hail Mary to move the stalled issue.
In Mississippi, sports betting on casino premises has been legal since 2018. But off-site online sports betting from computers and smart devices remains illegal in Mississippi.
House and Senate conferees, like the members in the respective chambers they represent, could again not get on the same page on the issue. The influence of the existing traditional casinos is clear, as the fear of competition from online gaming is palpable.
The combination of increasing competition for gaming revenues across state lines as neighboring states expand their gaming offerings and infighting over adopting technologies that gaming consumers want may make the contraction of Mississippi’s gaming revenues a trend.
In the regular session, the Senate passed State Sen. Joey Fillingane’s Senate Bill 2510, which sought to amend the state’s gaming code to ban “any online, interactive or computerized versions of games” and thus became the nation’s first legislative chamber to pass legislation outlawing so-called “sweepstakes” casinos.
“Sweepstakes” casinos mimic online casinos but offer players faux “coins” to play that can be purchased for cash.
The nation’s commercial gaming industry achieved record-breaking revenue for the third consecutive year in 2023, with 10.3% year-over-year growth, but revenue in Mississippi was down 3.5% or $91.28 million according to the American Gaming Association’s State of the States 2024 report.
The AGA report documented Mississippi’s 29 casinos (including those of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Philadelphia and Bok Homa) that the report says generate $6.54 billion in economic impact, 41,950 total jobs, $867.7 million in tax impact and tribal revenue share on gross gaming revenues of $2.48 billion.
National, the growth of traditional gaming revenues has flattened, while real growth has occurred in internet gaming (up 26%) and sports betting (up 22%).
According to the gaming industry publication Legal Sports Report: “Mississippi sports betting is legal and live at casinos in the state. The state has many retail sportsbooks in operation, but just three sportsbook apps. Online sports betting in Mississippi is limited to users located on a licensed casino’s premises.
You can download a sportsbook app from anywhere in the state, but you must be at a casino to place any wagers. Several Mississippi casinos have deals with sports books like FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars. However, only BetMGM, Caesars, and Pearl River Resort have launched sports betting apps in the state.
In Mississippi, sports betting on casino premises has been legal since 2018. But off-site online sports betting from computers and smart devices remains illegal in Mississippi. Mississippi’s overall gaming revenue has declined each fiscal year since FY22 and is tracking to decline again this year.
House and Senate conferees, like the members in the respective chambers they represent, could in 2025 again not get on the same page on the issue. The influence of the existing traditional casinos is clear as the fear of competition from online gaming is palpable.
As was the case in 2024, the combination of increasing competition for gaming revenues across state lines as neighboring states expand their gaming offerings and infighting over adopting technologies that gaming consumers want may make the contraction of Mississippi’s gaming revenues a trend.
Sid Salter
