Online sweepstakes casinos have gained a second life in Mississippi after lawmakers could not come to an agreement on proposed legislation that would ban online sweeps in the Magnolia State.
The news comes just over a month after the Mississippi Senate became the first state legislative chamber to approve the prohibition of sweepstakes casinos, setting the stage for a number of other states to do the same.
After the state House approved amendments to the bill, however, the Senate declined to concur with those changes. As a result, a conference was formed, bringing together House representatives and senators together in an attempt to get the proposal across the finish line.
The bill died in conference late last week.
House attempted to sneak in MS sports betting language
In mid-February, the Senate passed Senate Bill 2510, which aimed to include “internet sweepstakes casinos” within Mississippi’s prohibitions on betting, gaming and wagering. If passed, the legislation would carry a felony conviction for violators, who would face a fine up to $100,000 or up to 10 years in prison – or both.
Seeing an opportunity, though, the House began to make amendments.
Rep. Casey Eure, chair of the House Gaming Commission, added language within the proposal that would create two online sports betting skins for each existing retail casino. The entire chamber approved those changes and sent the bill back to the Senate for concurrence.
Interestingly, Eure championed House Bill 1302, which would legalize statewide online sports betting. Retail sportsbooks exist at casinos throughout the state with extremely limited online options; only users located on casino grounds can access those apps.
Eure’s efforts fell short, however, with the bill dying in the Senate Gaming Committee in early March after the House approved the proposal 88-10 a month earlier. Eure made a similar attempt last year, also with the House passing it along to the Senate. But Senators executed a strike-all amendment that resulted in a conference committee, where the proposal died.
Senate not a fan of House amendments to sweepstakes bill
Eure’s reasoning for legalizing online sports betting was simple, citing data that indicated Mississippi was missing out on up to $80 million per year without statewide mobile wagering.
The Mississippi Senate, though, did not appreciate Eure’s additions to SB 2510 – a bill solely dedicated to online casino gaming. Sen. Joey Fillingane, sponsor of the sweeps bill, said that both the Mississippi Gaming Commission and established casinos favor the sweepstakes ban. Most, however, oppose online sports betting expansion due to fears of cannibalization.
Sen. David Blount, chair of the Senate Gaming Committee, indicated earlier this year that he would consider sports betting legislation if the Mississippi Gaming Commission requested he do so. The MGC has not made such a request.
Now, adding sports betting language into SB 2510 makes little sense. The issues – eradicating sweepstakes gaming and legalizing sports wagering – are separate.
“I don’t think legislation should be something that’s traded,” Blount told the Clarion Ledger. “I think each bill should be looked at on its own merits. If you think it’s a good bill, you should pass it, and if you think it’s a bad bill, certainly you have every right to oppose it, but to link bills together when the topics that are not related to each other, to me, is not the way the legislature should work.”
