Mississippi’s Latest Mobile Sports Betting Bill Includes Tax Incentive for Casinos
Despite all previous digital gaming bills failing to gain approval, proponents of mobile sports betting in the Mississippi legislature are not easily defeated. However, a new measure could be the breakthrough needed to push it over the finish line, as it grants a significant tax break to the state’s land-based casinos.
New Twist on an Old Idea
Mississippi was an early adopter of sports betting, implementing retail sportsbooks shortly after PASPA was overturned in 2018, allowing states to decide for themselves whether to legalize sports betting instead of the federal government permitting it in only a few locales.
That early first step allowed Mississippi’s land-based casinos additional revenue with the addition of sportsbooks, and the state was able to tax that revenue. It was a win-win for all concerned, and the next logical step would have been to legalize the far more popular mobile sports betting, whose handle and revenue dwarf those of brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
Mobile Sports Betting Bills Continue to Fail
However, that was eight years ago, and still, mobile sports betting in the Magnolia State is nowhere to be found at any state-licensed digital sportsbook. The proponents have been diligently sponsoring mobile sports betting bills, but they have thus far come up short.
However, Representative Casey Eure (R-Saucier) proposed another mobile sports betting bill last week after several failed attempts. This time, he may have gotten the recipe just right, as he has increased the tax rate to 22.5% on digital sportsbooks’ revenue and has amended his legislation to reduce the tax on land-based casinos from 8% to 6%.
Projected Revenue and Casino Tax Changes
This increased tax is projected to deliver $100 million to the state’s coffers, while the reduced tax on casino revenue would save the state’s casinos approximately $48 million. It would also replace a $6 million fund to assist smaller casinos in the event of cannibalization from digital platforms, should they be legalized.
“By legalizing mobile sports betting, we can eliminate much of the illegal market—including protecting underage bettors—and provide real consumer safeguards in a regulated environment,” Eure said.
“This legislation will also give our brick-and-mortar casinos a new revenue stream to ensure their continued success, while the state revenue generated will help close the gap in funding for our Public Employees’ Retirement System,” Eure added.
Senate Chairman Must Be Convinced
After clearing the Ways and Means Committee, the House quickly passed Eure’s Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, HB 4074, by a landslide margin of 100-11. Now the bill has advanced to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
If there is one power player in Mississippi’s upper chamber who must be convinced to alter his opinion of online sports betting, it is Senator David Blount, chairman of the Senate Gaming Commission.
“The reason we have gaming in Mississippi is to encourage investment, to create jobs, and to grow tourism to bring other people from other places to Mississippi,” Blount told Mississippi Media last year. “Mobile sports betting doesn’t do that.”
Mississippi Gaming Commission Could Influence Outcome
Senator Blount has been an intractable force, and although it will be difficult to convince him otherwise, he has left the door ajar by stating he would only consider it if the Mississippi Gaming Commission asked for the expansion.
Yet, this new proposal by Representative Eure may have all the ingredients necessary to sway Blount and other opponents, as it not only grants a substantial incentive in tax breaks, but it also allows each casino the ability to partner with one online casino platform, which would generate even greater revenue.
