It looks like Mississippians won't have the opportunity to make legal mobile online sports bets for at least another year.
On Monday night, the Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives were negotiating a compromise on House Bill 774, but were unable to reach an agreement on the best path forward for mobile sports betting in Mississippi. They had until 8pm Monday to submit a report detailing their compromise to Congress.
Senate Gaming Committee Chairman and negotiator David Blunt, D-Jackson, told the Clarion Ledger that casinos could end up losing money or be negatively impacted by people placing sports bets on their phones. He said that there are concerns from several industry participants that there is a
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“This year we had more serious discussions than ever before,” Blount said. “There remains disagreement among various casino operators about the impact this bill will have on brick-and-mortar casinos and employment. We believe further research is needed.”
HB 774 first passed the House on February 1 by a vote of 97-14. At the time, House lawmakers estimated the state would benefit from up to $25 million in tax revenue that would go towards repairing bridges, roads, highways and other infrastructure.
If passed, the bill would have required cell phone companies to contract with brick-and-mortar gambling operations in the state, such as casinos. Only people living in Mississippi could participate in the online gambling platform.
The bill then sat in the Senate for two months before any action was taken, and in order to keep it alive and continue negotiations with the House, the bill was stripped of all language and sent to conference.
The bill died by Monday's parliamentary report deadline, but Blount said he was open to revisiting the bill next year.
“What's different about Mississippi is that we have an established casino industry that employs tens of thousands of people,” Blount said. “The bill that passed the House would have allowed I-Gaming, or sports betting, but also cell phone, poker and slot machine gambling on casino property. I think that's a mistake. I don't think so.'' I don't agree with that, but I think we could work on the bill again next year if we narrow it down to sports betting and address some of the consumer protection provisions that aren't addressed in the bill. ”
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Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at gmcLaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
