Mississippi
Mobile sports betting in MS still has many hurdles. See what passed the House
House Gaming chairman throws cold water on Jackson Casino bills filed this year
Mississippi House passes bill to cut income and sales tax
Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, House Ways and Means chairman, presents the Build Up Mississippi Act to cut income and sales taxes.
Mississippians are one step closer to having statewide online mobile sports betting, but hurdles in the Mississippi Legislature still need to be cleared before the idea is totally greenlit.
The Mississippi House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation to establish statewide online mobile sports betting with overwhelming support from chamber members.
The bill was met with some resistance from House Minority Leader Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, who also opposed the legislation in 2024. However, the bill passed with 88 votes in favor and only 10 votes in opposition.
House Gaming Committee Chair Casey Eure, R-Saucier, said the bill will likely head to conference, meaning it will not likely be accepted as is by the Mississippi Senate and will be debated and negotiated for before passing.
The Senate Gaming Committee, which will consider the bill next, is chaired by Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, who also opposed the House’s mobile sports betting bill in 2024. Blount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Eure also said the bill would add millions in yearly revenue to the state via a 12% tax on all mobile sports bets. The money would go to all 82 counties to fund roads and bridges projects.
Johnson, who represents an area with a casino, questioned why tax revenue generated from the legislation would go to all 82 counties when only a few in the state have casinos, such as those along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast.
“That’s the region that this gambling resource is coming out of,” Johnson said. “This (should not) protect all 82 counties. This (should) protect counties who have suffered through the risk of establishing a casino and have had them there for years. Not the counties that said ‘no’, but to the county that said, ‘Yes.’”
Last year, Eure estimated a mobile sports betting program could be bring in about $25 million in tax revenue.
As for prospective players, the bill would:
- Allow any person within the state to place an online mobile sports bet. Currently, you would need to be on casino grounds to bet online.
- Allow casinos to partner with two online betting platforms to begin online sports betting business.
- Players would not be allowed to use credit cards, but they could use debit cards and online payment options such as Cashapp or Venmo.
- Platforms would be required to age verify players. In Mississippi, players must be 21 years old.
Other states throughout the Southeast have been earning oodles of money in tax revenue from mobile sports betting. For example, Eure said, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky and North Carolina have made tens of millions in sports betting tax revenues since implementing their own programs.
“That just goes to show you that we’re losing a lot of tax revenue to these online sports betting,” Eure said.
Eure said on the House floor the bill added several provisions in addition to what it had last year in order to please some members in the Senate and the gaming community at large.
Last year, the bill died in conference due to concerns that the online betting programs would drive foot traffic away from brick-and-mortar casinos and possibly cost jobs.
Cold water thrown on Jackson casino project bills
Before the vote on mobile sports betting, Rep. William Brown, D-Jackson, asked if Eure had any intentions of supporting legislation to establish a Jackson casino project, which died in the House Ways and Means Committee last year.
Several bills to establish a Jackson casino have been filed into the Legislature this year but as of Monday afternoon none have passed through a committee. Lawmakers have until Tuesday evening to pass such a bill onto either the House or Senate floor.
Eure acknowledged the bill from 2024, but on Monday he said he had heard no such support for a project, and essentially dismissed the idea.
“I’ve had no one contact me, and I’ve had no conversations about a Jackson Casino,” Eure said.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
A group of monkeys being transported on a Mississippi highway that escaped captivity on Tuesday after the truck carrying them overturned did not carry a dangerous infectious disease, a university has said.
The truck was carrying rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16lb (7.7kg) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet.
Video shows monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.
The local sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “have not been exposed to any infectious agent”.
All but one of the escaped monkeys were killed, the Jasper county sheriff’s department said in a post on Facebook, warning that the monkeys were “aggressive”.
They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.
The crash happened about 100 miles (160km) from the state capital of Jackson. It was not clear what caused the truck to overturn.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Mississippi State’s hope of reaching six wins and going to a bowl game this season are on life support.
The Bulldogs have lost their last four games, all SEC games, and in heart-breaking fashion, too. Two of those losses were overtime games and another was lost on last minute interception.
Mississippi State needs a win, not just for its bowl game aspirations, but also to give the fanbase something to cheer about instead of calling for a coaching change.
“One, thank you for the support, the atmosphere and the energy. And Saturday was as good as it gets,” Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby said Monday when asked about what his message to the upset fans. “You’ve all heard me talk about how much I appreciate our community and our connection and the passion, the love that people have for Mississippi State. I love that. That’s one of the greatest things about our university.
“I hate that (the fans are) not getting to enjoy (wins). My hope is that we have the ability to go take care of business and go get a tough, hard win on the road on Saturday. And then come back home to another great crowd.”
Fortunately, Mississippi State’s opponent this week represents the most winnable SEC game left on its schedule, even if Lebby won’t admit that’s what Arkansas is.
“No, not in the least bit,” Lebby said. “We’re playing the best two and six football team in the country this week. They’ve got a quarterback that is elite at everything that he does. They have played really well offensively. Auburn did a really good job defensively the other day, creating some turnovers. Arkansas struggled in the red zone a little bit.
“But their ability to score and play great offensively is very well documented. And then defensively, they’ve played better. They haven’t been great against the run, but they were better this past week.”
But that doesn’t change the fact the odds for the Bulldogs this week are the best they’ll be the rest of the season.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
Mississippi State: +4.5 (-112)
Arkansas: -4.5 (-108)
Moneyline
Mississippi State: +158
Arkansas: -192
Total
Over: 67.5 (-110)
Under: 67.5 (-110)
Another week of the 2025 Mississippi high school football season has come and gone, and High School On SI has all of the latest computer rankings for each classification as of October 27, 2025.
High School On SI’s formula was created using its own linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm in order to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.
Which teams took the top spot in each division? Here are High School On SI’s latest Mississippi high school football computer rankings, as of October 27, 2025:
1. Calhoun City (7-1)
2. Simmons (7-0)
3. Biggersville (7-2)
4. Stringer (7-2)
5. Nanih Waiya (6-2)
6. Leflore County (6-3)
7. South Delta (7-2)
8. Taylorsville (5-4)
9. Noxapater (5-4)
10. West Tallahatchie (6-2)
11. Bogue Chitto (6-3)
12. Salem (6-2)
13. Ethel (6-3)
14. West Lowndes (4-3)
15. Leake County (4-5)
16. Lumberton (4-4)
17. Byers (5-3)
18. Richton (4-5)
19. Tupelo Christian Prep (5-4)
20. Sebastopol (3-6)
21. Okolona (3-7)
22. Potts Camp (3-4)
23. Shaw (1-6)
24. Falkner (3-5)
25. Vardaman (2-7)
View full Class 1A rankings
1. Wesson (9-0)
2. Baldwyn (8-1)
3. East Webster (8-1)
4. Charleston (5-2)
5. Heidelberg (5-2)
6. Clarkdale (7-2)
7. Bay Springs (6-2)
8. Water Valley (7-2)
9. Loyd Star (8-1)
10. North Side (7-1)
11. Lake (6-3)
12. Myrtle (7-2)
13. Hamilton (6-3)
14. Eupora (6-3)
15. Amite County (6-2)
16. Hatley (6-2)
17. Kemper County (3-4)
18. Mize (3-6)
19. Bruce (6-3)
20. Velma Jackson (4-5)
21. East Marion (4-4)
22. North Forrest (4-5)
23. Enterprise Clarke (2-7)
24. Philadelphia (1-7)
25. Collins (3-5)
View full Class 2A rankings
1. Union (9-0)
2. Raleigh (8-1)
3. Noxubee County (6-3)
4. Kossuth (6-2)
5. West Marion (6-3)
6. Choctaw County (5-4)
7. Magee (6-2)
8. Hazlehurst (4-3)
9. Presbyterian Christian (6-3)
10. Tylertown (6-3)
11. Quitman (5-4)
12. Aberdeen (5-4)
13. Winona (4-4)
14. Belmont (6-3)
15. Seminary (4-5)
16. Yazoo County (5-3)
17. Humphreys County (5-4)
18. Booneville (4-5)
19. North Panola (4-4)
20. Jefferson Davis County (3-5)
21. O’Bannon (5-3)
22. Coahoma County (3-5)
23. Franklin County (4-5)
24. Independence (4-4)
25. Thomas E. Edwards (4-4)
View full Class 3A rankings
1. Columbia (9-0)
2. Senatobia (8-1)
3. Kosciusko (8-1)
4. Louisville (6-2)
5. Clarksdale (6-1)
6. McComb (7-1)
7. North Pontotoc (7-1)
8. Leake Central (7-2)
9. New Albany (7-2)
10. Rosa Fort (6-1)
11. Pass Christian (8-1)
12. Forest (7-2)
13. Corinth (6-2)
14. Itawamba Agricultural (6-2)
15. Poplarville (5-3)
16. Choctaw Central (6-2)
17. Morton (5-3)
18. Greenwood (6-3)
19. Shannon (6-3)
20. Newton County (5-4)
21. West Lauderdale (4-4)
22. Mendenhall (4-4)
23. Greene County (6-3)
24. Forrest County Agricultural (5-3)
25. Richland (5-4)
View full Class 4A rankings
1. West Point (8-0)
2. Brookhaven (6-2)
3. New Hope (6-2)
4. Lanier (9-0)
5. South Jones (7-2)
6. Sumrall (6-3)
7. Holmes County Central (6-3)
8. Cleveland Central (4-3)
9. Lafayette (4-4)
10. Purvis (5-3)
11. Vicksburg (5-3)
12. Stone (5-3)
13. Pontotoc (4-4)
14. Northeast Jones (4-4)
15. Laurel (2-6)
16. Florence (3-5)
17. Natchez (3-5)
18. Vancleave (3-5)
19. Wayne County (2-6)
20. North Pike (1-7)
21. Provine (2-7)
22. East Central (1-7)
23. Caledonia (1-7)
24. Columbus (1-7)
View full Class 5A rankings
1. Picayune (7-1)
2. Warren Central (6-2)
3. Ridgeland (7-1)
4. South Panola (5-3)
5. Grenada (6-2)
6. West Jones (7-2)
7. Lake Cormorant (6-2)
8. Terry (7-1)
9. Hattiesburg (6-2)
10. Callaway (5-4)
11. Center Hill (4-4)
12. Neshoba Central (4-4)
13. Pearl River Central (4-3)
14. Greenville (4-4)
15. Pascagoula (3-5)
16. Saltillo (3-6)
17. Canton (3-5)
18. Hancock (3-5)
19. George County (3-5)
20. Gautier (3-5)
21. Olive Branch (1-7)
22. Forest Hill (1-8)
23. Long Beach (1-7)
24. Jim Hill (1-8)
View full Class 6A rankings
1. Ocean Springs (7-1)
2. Tupelo (8-1)
3. Oxford (7-1)
4. Starkville (6-2)
5. D’Iberville (7-1)
6. Gulfport (6-2)
7. Petal (6-3)
8. Oak Grove (6-3)
9. Germantown (5-3)
10. West Harrison (6-3)
11. Hernando (6-2)
12. Horn Lake (5-3)
13. Northwest Rankin (5-3)
14. DeSoto Central (6-3)
15. St. Martin (6-3)
16. Clinton (4-4)
17. Madison Central (4-4)
18. Brandon (3-5)
19. Pearl (3-5)
20. Southaven (3-5)
21. Biloxi (2-6)
22. Meridian (2-6)
23. Lewisburg (2-6)
24. Harrison Central (1-7)
25. Murrah (1-8)
View full Class 7A rankings
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