Mississippi House Approves New Online Sports Betting Bill With Higher Tax Rate

• The Mississippi House this week approved HB 4074, an online sports betting bill
• The bill is similar to an earlier House-approved bill introduced by Rep. Casey Eure
• HB 4074 includes the same regulatory framework, but increases the proposed sports betting tax rate and decreases rates for casinos 

Take two for Mississippi online sports betting.

The Mississippi House of Representatives approved Rep. Casey Eure’s HB 4074, a bill to legalize online sports betting, by a 100-11 vote on Feb. 25. The bill is nearly identical to Eure’s earlier approved HB 1581, except it includes an increase to the proposed sports betting tax rate and a tax rate decrease for Mississippi casinos.

The bill now heads to the Senate, which has not shown an appetite for online sports betting legalization over the last several years.

On Par With National Average

While most of the details in HB 4074 are nearly identical to Eure’s HB 1581, the legislation includes a higher proposed online sports betting rate of 22% on all sports betting gross gaming revenues.

His previous bill included a tiered tax rate for adjusted sports betting revenue as follows:

• 8% of gross revenue that surpasses $134,000 per month
• 4% of gross revenue not surpassing $50,000 per month
• 6% of gross revenue that surpasses $50,000, but does not surpass $134,000 per month

Eure said the 22% tax rate will bring Mississippi more in line with the national average for sports betting tax rates.

Additionally, the legislation proposes a decrease of casinos taxes from 8% to 6% in the state. The decrease hopefully will assuage fears regarding online sports betting potentially cannibalizing revenues for land-based casinos.

The bill also still contains a provision for a one-time $600 million payment from the state’s Capital Expense Fund to fund Mississippi’s pension system.

If approved and signed into law, the bill sets an online sports betting launch date of no later than Dec. 8, 2026. It allows the state’s 26 commercial dockside and land-based casinos to partner with up to two online sports betting partners in the state.

Road Block Remains in Senate

Despite the approval, one large roadblock remains in the Mississippi Senate.

Previous efforts to legalize have largely been blocked by Sen. David Blount (D-29), chair of the Senate Committee on Gaming, a vocal opponent of legalized Mississippi online sports betting. Blount never called Eure’s 2025 bill to his committee, noting that no member of the committee asked to hear the legislation.

Fear of online sports betting cannibalization, and its effect on revenues for brick-and-mortar casinos in the state, led to stalled discussions.

Blount remains in office until 2028, so legalization odds are incredibly slim.