Sweepstakes casinos are safe in Mississippi after a bill withered in the state senate due to failure to find a consensus on how online sports betting would fit into the legislation.
As a result of the failure of Senate Bill 2510 this week, which didn’t even manage to reach a vote on the floor, the future of legal sports betting in Mississippi is in doubt. As was expected, the opposition to online sports betting doomed the anti-sweepstakes bill.
Despite being surrounded by neighboring states that have legal online sportsbooks, Mississippi cannot find a way to legalize the activity. The matter will likely not be addressed again until 2026 at the earliest. That is a positive for sweepstakes casinos around operating in the state.
Sweeps casinos are applications that offer prizes to customers who play casino-style games like slots and blackjack without placing real money at stake. The apps use coins or tokens as measurements of success, and allow consumers to redeem them for prizes, including cash. Operators of sweepstakes casinos argue the applications are not gambling, but fall under lottery rules.
Added online sports betting language sinks bill
SB2510 called for a ban on sweepstakes casinos and fines and other punishments for operators of such products. But, a revised version of the bill also included an addendum that permitted retail casinos in Mississippi to apply for up to two sports betting licenses and operate online sportsbooks in partnership with commercial sports betting companies. It laid out a tax rate of 12% on sports betting revenue.
Previously, Sen. Joey Fillingane‘s bill passed unanimously for consideration in the Senate when it did not include sports betting language. But with the new provisions, opposition emerged, and it was shelved without debate on the floor.
In the past two legislative sessions two other bills that would have legalized sports betting in Mississippi were blocked in the senate. Thus, Mississippi remains with sports betting only available at select retail casinos that have a sportsbook. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee, bordering states to Mississippi, all have legal online sports betting markets.
In the meantime, sweepstakes casinos remain legal in the state until legislators can agree to a compromise. However, that isn’t likely to happen anytime in 2025.
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