New Mississippi Sports Betting Bill Proposes Some Never-Before Seen Restrictions
Mississippi first launched legal sports betting in August of 2018, just three months after it was first allowed to expand out of Nevada. The legalization came with one caveat: You could only place bets in person, OR you could do it online as long as you were physically in the Casino.
So while online sports betting was legal, there were tight restrictions prohibiting you to do so outside of Casino grounds. The first online sportsbook to launch in Mississippi was BetMGM Sportsbook in September 2021.
Mississippi Representative Casey Eure recently expressed interest in expanding mobile Mississippi sports betting throughout the entire state. The idea would be to make it so you don’t have to be on casino grounds to place your bets, and you could do so from the comfort of your own home.
The proposal came in the form of HB 997, a bill that would legalize full mobile sports betting in Mississippi, with each casino getting one online betting license. However, to many residents surprise, the bill includes some never before seen barriers.
In-Person Registration Required Under New Proposed Bill
The new MS sports betting bill would require in-person registration in order to use online sports betting. So prospective bettors would have to go to the casino in person in order to register their account.
It doesn’t stop there though, because bettors would then have to renew their account every 12 months in-person at the casino as well.
These would be the first restrictions of their kind in the country, and it is particularly unclear as to what purpose they would serve. Sure, it would make things slightly more difficult, but all it seems to do is penalize those that live far away from a casino.
This is one of many bills currently on the Mississippi State government floor that would legalize mobile sports betting. State Senator Philip Moran wants to approve a bill that would legalize sports betting with esports included, while Representative Cedric Burnett is on his third try in four years when it comes to legalizing sports betting.
Eure’s proposal is the only one to include the in-person registration and renewal, so it will be interesting to see how the state reacts to this one.
