MS House passes online sports betting bill. See what it is

The Mississippi House of Representatives on Thursday passed House Bill 774, which would legalize online sports betting within the state if it is approved by Senate and signed by the governor.

The bill, which passed 97 to 14, would allow for online sports gambling, and would require mobile companies to contract with brick-and-mortar gambling business in the state, such as casinos. Only people located in Mississippi can participate in the online wagering platforms.

Mississippi currently boasts 26 casinos.

Rep. Casey Eure, R, who sponsored the bill, told House Members that the expansion of sports betting could bring between $25 million and $35 million to the state in tax revenues, which would be spent on road and bridge maintenance throughout the state.

Sports gambling has been legal in Mississippi since 2018 but did not allow for online betting.

Aside from possibly adding Mississippi to the list, mobile sports betting is already legal in 29 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association. Five other states are currently considering bills that would legalize online sports betting. Other states that allow mobile sports betting include Oregon, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, to name a few.

During the session, Eure said the Georgia Senate passed online sports betting earlier on Thursday, and stated the Alabama Legislature will also be looking to pass a sports betting package later this year.

"All I'm doing is trying to give another product to our casino industry in our state to stay competitive," Eure said. "I feel like that's what we're doing. So if you look at surrounding states and you look at what happened today in Georgia, just keep that in mind, that we keep Mississippi moving forward."

During the session, Rep. Robert Johnson, D, added an amendment to the bill that would divert tax revenues from the state, but to a 40-mile radius around where revenues were made from online gambling. He argues this would better serve the areas where a lot of online betting would occur.

"If I have 4,000 people placing a bet Natchez on FanDuel, which is drafting their contracts with a casino on the coast, all that revenue, all those jobs and created at the casino, should follow that money down there," Johnson said.

That amendment failed by a large majority.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. If passed as is by both chambers, the bill would take effect in July.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: House passes mobile sports betting in Mississippi