Mississippi Won’t Ban Sweepstakes or Legalize Online Betting

An important bill that proposed banning sweepstakes casino and at the same time authorizing online sports betting in Mississippi died in the Senate. The proposal marked another push toward expanding legal gambling in the state while addressing the growing concerns related to sweepstakes casinos.

Sweepstakes Ban Proposal Receives an Overhaul

Earlier this year, the proposal, Senate Bill 2510 (SB 2510), was referred to the Senate’s Judiciary Committee. Two lawmakers are the primary sponsors of the bipartisan proposal: Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Republican and Sen. David Blount, a Democrat.

Notably, the bill sought to eliminate sweepstakes casinos, establishing rules that would permit the prosecution of such operators and businesses promoting them. Per the proposal, individuals involved in online sweepstakes would be subject to felony charges.

While SB 2510 passed the Senate, it was later sent to the House Gaming Commission. There, the proposal has gone through amendments that saw the addition of sports betting to the bill’s text. Ultimately, the chances sought to allow brick-and-mortar casinos and racetracks to join forces with online betting operators.

Under the change, each casino operator would be permitted to team up with up to two online betting skins. This would establish a competitive and robust online betting market available to customers across Mississippi. The change in question marked a major move as it proposed to expand betting, which is currently limited to land-based venues. As with other states, Mississippi would benefit from tax revenue, which in the case for mobile betting was proposed at 12%.

The Bill Died in Conference Committee

While it appeared that SB 2510’s success was certain, in the end, the legislation failed. That’s the case after the Senate’s upper chamber recently disagreed with the proposed amendments, particularly regarding betting. After that, the Senate invited a conference committee where the proposal died.

An important aspect of the bill was that it proposed the authorization of online sports betting, which according to some lawmakers, is already happening via illegal outlets or operators in nearby states. Annually, Mississippi is losing tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, supporters of the expansion claimed previously.

At the same time, the proposal planned to eliminate sweepstakes, an effort that is led by several other states. In Arkansas, for example, proposals call to legalize online gambling, while killing sweepstakes. That’s the case under two bills, SB524 and HB1861, that enjoy bipartisan support.