The State of Online Gambling in Mississippi
Although there is no specific law regulating casino gambling online in Mississippi, the state’s Gaming Commission is explicit that the law states it is illegal. It also warns against playing with offshore casinos and unlicensed operators if you reside in Mississippi.
Many of the state’s licensed casinos offer their own branded social gaming sites. There are also a number of national online social gaming companies that are available in Mississippi. These online casinos allow punters to play for prizes or comps and can be found on some social media platforms, such as Facebook.
Although sports betting is available at the state’s commercial casinos, it is only permitted on-site. However, this is not very feasible, since the only mobile sports betting app currently available in the state is the one offered by the tribal casinos.
Mississippi citizens are allowed to bet on Daily Fantasy Sports. The state allows pari-mutuel betting in licensed casinos, but no racetrack betting and all internet pari-mutuel gambling is prohibited.
Will Online Gambling Be Legalized in Mississippi Soon?
Although it’s difficult to give an exact timeline, it looks like it may not happen for quite a while still. The income generated from the more than 24 land-based casinos is something the state desperately needs, and the lawmakers do not seem keen to add online gambling as another stream of revenue for Mississippi.
Sports betting, however, is another kettle of fish. Although the state introduced bills that would permit online gambling in 2019 and 2020 respectively, none managed to get to the voting stage.
What could speed things up in this state is the fact that more than 80% of the sports betting handle in the U.S. is placed online, making this a worthy pursuit for some lawmakers in Mississippi.
History of Gambling in Mississippi
The term “Mississippi Miracle” is not hyperbole.
Mississippi, like many other Southern states, imposed strong gambling prohibitions in the late 1800s that stayed essentially unaltered for the following century. Then Mississippi defied the restriction in a move that shocked not only the area but the whole country at the time.
Mississippi was and continues to be governed by conservative political, religious and cultural elements that have long been unfavorable to gambling in any form. However, officials began progressively building support for legal gambling as a new method to get income in a faltering state economy.
Mississippi began to see gambling as a way to draw visitors from around the country after the popularity of commercial casinos in New Jersey in the 1970s and legally acknowledged Native American tribes on tribal territory in the 1980s. Legislators defeated gambling adversaries to establish contemporary riverboat casinos, which were soon followed by land-based casinos.
It’s still surprising that Mississippi was only the third state in the country to have commercial casinos. Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, among other regional counterparts, are still without commercial gambling establishments on land.
Mississippi Casinos That May Offer Online Casinos
Penn National Gaming (Hollywood Tunica, Hollywood Gulf Coast, Boomtown, Vicksburg), MGM Resorts (Gold Strike, Beau Rivage) and Caesar’s Entertainment (Horseshoe Tunica,Harrah’s Gulf Coast), are among the main national casino dealers that already manage or own casinos in the state. If Mississippi legalizes online casino gaming, all of them are established online operators that could make the shift rapidly. Other operators in the state, including Hard Rock and Boyd Gaming, could also step up to the plate fairly quickly.
What About Mobile Apps?
If online casino gaming is legalized, smartphone applications will become a critical component of the industry. Casino gambling software enables bettors to gamble on their mobile devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere in the state.
The applications are generally accessible for Android and iOS platforms, and they would be available for free download via the casino’s website or the App Store.
AUTHOR BIO
Vinod Gill is a writer who specializes in writing content on Insurance and Finance subjects. He is a Digital Marketing Consultant, Blogger, and Co-Founder of FixTheLife.
