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.
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
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Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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