Mississippi House Approves Online Sports Betting Bill For Third Year in a Row

• The Mississippi House approved an online sports betting bill for the third year in a row
• The House approved Rep. Casey Eure’s HB 1581 this week
• Legislation is similar to last year, with one large difference

Mississippi online sports betting finds itself in a similar position for the third year in a row.

The Mississippi House of Representatives this week approved Rep. Casey Eure’s (R-116) HB 1581, a bill to legalize online sports betting off tribal land in the Magnolia State. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration, where it has died for the last three years with little discussion.

The legislation is similar to a bill he authored last year, but will initiate a one-time $600 million payment from the state’s Capital Expense Fund to fund Mississippi’s pension system.

Another House Approval for Sports Betting

The Mississippi House of Representative approved the bill by an 85-31 vote. Online sports betting is technically legal in Mississippi, but is currently only allowed on retail casino property. Eure’s bill will expand online sports betting throughout the state.

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.

While most of the details of Eure’s bill are similar to one passed by the House last year, one large difference was included to make the legislation more palatable. The $600 million payment from the Capital Expense Fund will be used to help support the state’s struggling retirement system.

Additionally, the bill will earmark $6 million annually to a new Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund. The fund will allow casinos who choose to not partner with an online sports betting operators to apply for a portion of revenue from the fund. The Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund will receive $6 million annually through 2030.

The bill includes a tiered tax system for adjusted sports betting revenue as follows:

• 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
• 8% of gross revenue that surpasses $134,000 per month

Three other introduced sports betting bills – Rep. Cedric Burnett’s (D-9) HB 297 and Rep. Jay McKnight’s (R-95) HB 519, plus Sen. Juan Barnett’s (D-34) SB 2249 – have all died in committee this session.

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.