Mississippi House Passes Online Sports Betting Bill — Again (Now Comes the Hard Part)
Mississippi House lawmakers once pushed their chips to the middle of the table on mobile sports betting. They approved a statewide online wagering bill for the third straight year, even as the Senate remains openly skeptical and, historically, unmoved.
On Wednesday, the House voted 85–31 to pass House Bill 1581, the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, sending it across the Capitol to a Senate gaming committee that has already killed similar proposals in back-to-back sessions.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Casey Eure (R-Saucier), chair of the House Gaming Committee, who acknowledged the uphill climb but argued Mississippi can no longer afford to sit still while neighboring states cash in.
“We’re losing Mississippi bettors — and Mississippi tax dollars — every single day,” Eure told lawmakers via the Clarion Ledger.
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What The Mississippi Online Sports Betting Bill Would Do
HB 1581 would legalize statewide mobile sports betting, ending Mississippi’s unusual system that allows wagering apps only on casino property, enforced through geofencing.
Under the proposal:
- Online sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM would be required to partner with a Mississippi casino
- Each casino could partner with up to two sports betting platforms and two racebook platforms
- Mobile betting revenue would be taxed and directed to the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS)
The casino-partner requirement is designed to protect brick-and-mortar operators — a key political pressure point in previous debates.
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A Safety Net for Retail Casinos — and State Pensions
To further ease casino concerns, the bill includes a five-year protection fund:
- The first $6 million in mobile sports betting tax revenue each year would be reserved to compensate casinos that can demonstrate losses tied to mobile wagering
- After the first five years, all mobile betting tax revenue would flow directly to PERS
An amendment adopted on the House floor could eventually trigger a $600 million transfer from the state’s Capital Expense Fund to help shore up PERS — but only if the system meets certain funding benchmarks, including an annual return of at least 7.75%.
Mississippi’s public employee retirement system carries an unfunded liability estimated at roughly $26 billion, and lawmakers in both chambers are scrambling for long-term solutions. The Senate recently passed a separate plan to inject $1 billion over the next decade using surplus funds.
Eure’s pitch: gaming revenue should be part of the fix.
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The Revenue Case: Online Sports Betting May Generate $40-80M Each Year
Eure estimates mobile sports betting could generate $40–80 million annually in its early years, potentially approaching $100 million per year — in line with nearby Louisiana, which collected about $90 million in tax revenue in 2025, and Tennessee, which brought in roughly $117 million.
Republican House Speaker Jason White voted in favor of the bill, reiterating a position he has taken since assuming the gavel in 2024: mobile sports betting is coming, whether Mississippi likes it or not.
“That money will go elsewhere or into illegal dealers’ pockets,” White said previously. “At least this way, it’s regulated, taxed, and benefiting Mississippi.”
Senate Resistance — New Argument Includes Prediction Markets
The problem, once again, is the Senate.
Sen. David Blount, chair of the Senate Gaming Committee, has blocked mobile sports betting bills in each of the past two sessions — and he’s showing no signs of backing off.
This year, Blount has added a new wrinkle to his opposition: prediction markets.
Blount argues that prediction markets — such as Kalshi and Polymarket — have effectively created nationwide mobile betting without state oversight. Those platforms operate under guidance of the Commodities Futures Trading Corporation. Blout deems them a looser federal regulatory environment.
“The states cannot tax and cannot regulate these platforms,” Blount said via Super Talk Media. “You’re going to see people move away from traditional sportsbooks.”
In other words: why legalize something Mississippi can’t fully control — or fully monetize?
Complicating matters further, the Senate recently passed a Republican-backed bill increasing penalties for illegal online gambling. That could be seen as a sign that chamber may be moving in the opposite direction.
Consumer Protection vs. Senate Reality
Eure countered that doing nothing leaves Mississippi with zero oversight, zero consumer protections, and zero revenue. Residents simply cross state lines to bet online legally elsewhere.
He told lawmakers that more than 10 million betting attempts have been made in Mississippi since September. More than 80,000 residents traveled to Tennessee and Louisiana when they couldn’t place wagers at home.
The bill includes safeguards such as:
- Age and identity verification
- Account monitoring for problem gambling
- Automatic withholding of child support from winnings over $2,000
“I do not feel that any casino is going to lose money on this,” Eure said.
Third Time’s the Charm?
Maybe. But Mississippi bettors have heard this one before.
HB 1581 now heads to the Senate Gaming Committee. Similar legislation has quietly died there — twice — regardless of overwhelming House support.
The House has made its move.
Again.
Now comes the part Mississippi sports bettors know all too well: waiting to see if the Senate finally blinks.
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