Mississippi lawmaker files new mobile sports betting bill

A Mississippi lawmaker on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow mobile sports betting for adult residents and visitors within the state's borders.

Rep. Cedric Burnett's House Bill 184 seeks to bring Mississippi in line with other states by allowing gaming operators to “accept wagers placed from sports pool wagering accounts through digital platforms, provided such wagers are initiated, received and made within Mississippi,” according to the text of the bill. The bill allows for the standard kind of wagers, including single-game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under lines, moneyline bets, in-game wagering, and in-play bets.

If approved, the act would take effect on July 1, 2022, the bill states. It has now been referred to the House Gaming and Ways and Means committees for further consideration.

While Mississippi was one of the first states to offer legal sports betting following the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of PASPA in 2018, bettors can currently only wager at the state’s casinos and not online, costing the state and operators substantial revenue.

Similar bills have failed in the past three years. But now the push would be stronger this year because neighboring Louisiana launched sports betting at casinos in November, with the mobile vertical set to follow suit within a couple of weeks. Also, the Arkansas Racing Commission last week approved rules for mobile sports betting, and Tennessee has allowed mobile sports betting since Nov. 1, 2020.