Sports Betting in Mississippi

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) became legal in Mississippi in 2017. A year later, sports betting in Mississippi also became legal after the Supreme Court determined that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was unconstitutional. On August 1, 2018, the first legal bets were placed in The Magnolia State.

Sports Betting in Mississippi

Since 2018 sports betting within the state of Mississippi has come a long way, with almost 30 retail sportsbooks in Mississippi and the ability to use various sports betting apps to place bets directly via your mobile.

These betting apps can only be accessed while physically on casino premises. HB 1042 attempted to legalize the use of such apps from anywhere in the state, but failed to be passed.

Where can I bet on sports in Mississippi?

In Mississippi, all gambling is restricted to both water and land-based casinos, including sports betting. Off the casino grounds, no online or mobile betting is permitted.

On August 1, the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica became the first two Mississippi casinos to accept sports bets. Legal sports betting is now available at 23 Mississippi establishments.

Who regulates sports betting in Mississippi?

The Mississippi Gaming Commission regulates all sports betting activity, issuing licenses, and ensuring that all sportsbooks follow the state’s gaming statutes and regulations.

Mobile Sports Betting in Mississippi

There has been big progress made in 2022 concerning the legality of mobile sports betting in Mississippi. On January 2, House Bill 184, was submitted which looked to allow the state’s residents to make bets from their mobile devices.

Although the bill later died in Committee, this was just one of the measures introduced by Democrat Rep. Cedric Burnett. This was the fourth attempt to legalize mobile sports betting in Mississippi and with neighboring states getting more than 90% of their sports betting handles from online services which greatly increases tax revenues, it almost seems inevitable until Mississippi follows suit. We will bring you more updates as they come in.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) have been legal within the state of Mississippi as far back as 2017, when Act H 967 was passed. Since the Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was unconstitutional, the state moved to legalize sports betting. The first legal bets were placed in Mississippi on August 1, 2018.

Since then, sports betting within the state of Mississippi has come on leaps and bound. Citizens can access almost 30 retail locations and use various apps to place bets. These kinds of apps can currently only be accessedwhilet on casino property, with HB 1042 to legalize the use of such apps from anywhere in the state failing to be passed.

The Summary of the Conditions for Betting in Mississippi are:

• DFS has been fully legalized, and operators must pay a licensing fee of $5,000 every three years, plus 8% tax on revenues.
• There are around 30 retail sportsbooks that are legally allowed to operate within the state, with 11 licensed sports betting operators in place.
• While technically mobile betting is legal within Mississippi, you can only place bets in three casinos’ physical locations due to current regulations in place.
• A 12% tax is taken from sports betting revenues, of which 8% goes to the state and 4% goes to the local jurisdiction.

Legal Sports Betting Options in Mississippi

There are fifteen total retail sportsbooks within Indiana right now, most of which are made up of commercial casinos and a few off-track-betting locations in the mix.

Legal Sports Betting Apps in Mississippi

While mobile betting is technically legal within Mississippi, the current laws mean that mobile bets can only be placed inside retail sportsbooks or on casino property.

There have been many attempts to open this up to the normal model that so many other states have adopted at this point, whereby you can access mobile bets from anywhere within the state lines, but so far these attempts have been unsuccessful. The most recent was Senate Bill 2396 which died in committee after being submitted in February of 2021.

What are your options right now in Mississippi?

You can place bets on online apps while you are physically in retail establishments of three sportsbooks within the state.

• Silver Star Casino (Philadelphia)
• Bok Homa Casino (Heidelberg)
• Golden Moon Hotel & Casino (Philadelphia)

Mississippi Lottery

Around the same time as the state of Mississippi legalized sports betting came the legalization of lottery sales, with the first tickets going on sale on November 25, 2019. This was made possible after the Mississippi Lottery Corporation was formed in August of 2018 after Governor Phil Bryant helped pass some crucial laws.

The Path to Mississippi Legalizing Sports Betting

• March 2017 – House Bill 967 passed, allowing DFS in the state to generate around $5 million in tax revenues.
• May 2018 – PASPA was deemed unconstitutional allowing states to set up legal sports betting operations.
• August 2018 – The first legal sports betting launch in Mississippi. The first wagers were placed at Beau Rivage Casino and Gold Strike Casino on August 1.
• January 2019 – A Bill is introduced to attempt to legalize online betting all over the state of Mississippi, but it was not passed.

Mississippi Sports Franchises

The state doesn’t have any major league teams to speak of. The largest city in the state is Jackson with a population of just 170,000. This means there isn’t a huge market for these kinds of sports franchises to shoot for. The state has plenty of sports being played, with strong college team followings that draw crowds just as big as any MLB or NBA game.

Football: Ole Miss Rebels

Founded way back in 1893, this college team that represents the University of Mississippi plays from the Vaught–Hemingway Stadium which can hold a capacity of just over 64,000 fans. The team plays in the Western Division, in the Southeastern Conference and has managed to claim three national titles as well as win 6 conference titles.

The team would once score a massive 114 points in one game in a win over the Union College team, another fun fact about the team’s history is that the speed limit on the Ole Miss campus is 18MPH, this is in honor of Archine Manning who wore that number and was picked up by the New Orleans Saints as a 2nd pick in the NFL drafts in 1971.

Baseball: Mississippi Braves

Founded in 2005, this is now one of the state’s favorite baseball teams, winning the league in 2008 and claiming division wins in both 2008 and 2016. The Braves play from Trustmark Park and are currently being managed by Dan Meyer.

The team recently captured the team’s fourth no-hitter, going 6-0 against the Blue Wahoos with 3,808 fans watching on. So if you are in the state of Mississippi and an avid baseball fan, it seems like this is where the action is.