Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act; enact and dedicate proceeds to HOPE Scholarship Program.
SB 2379 would create the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act and legalize online sports pools and online race books in Mississippi. The bill allows wagers to be placed over the internet through websites, mobile phones, computers, and similar devices, but only for players physically located in Mississippi and only through a platform contracted with a licensed casino operator. It requires age verification, geofencing/geolocation, responsible gaming programs, and restrictions on wagering by persons under 21, self-excluded patrons, and certain athletes, coaches, officials, and others affiliated with sporting events.
The bill also sets up a licensing and regulatory framework for the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Platforms operating online sports wagering would need a manufacturer’s and distributor’s license, and licensed gaming establishments could contract with no more than two platforms for online sports pools and two for online race books. The measure expressly prohibits interactive gaming and keeps existing criminal prohibitions in place for unauthorized gambling, while amending multiple sections of Mississippi gaming and criminal law to conform to the new online wagering structure. It also clarifies that online sports wagering revenue is subject to state oversight, reporting, and enforcement by the commission and the Department of Revenue.
SB 2379 would amend the Mississippi Code to recognize online sports pools and online race books as lawful forms of wagering, while preserving the ban on interactive gaming and retaining criminal penalties for illegal gambling outside the bill’s authorization. It would revise gaming definitions, licensing rules, credit instrument provisions, and several criminal gambling statutes to carve out the new online wagering activity and align existing law with mobile betting operations. The bill also requires casino licensees and platforms to comply with geofencing, age verification, reporting, and responsible gaming requirements, and it authorizes the Gaming Commission to regulate the new market through rulemaking.
Financially, the bill imposes a 12% fee on gross revenue derived from the authorized mobile wagering activity, exempts that revenue from certain existing gaming fees, and directs the proceeds first to a Mississippi HOPE Scholarship Program Fund and then, after an initial annual transfer, to the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund. It also creates a Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund to offset declines in retail sports wagering revenue for casinos compared with 2024 levels. The bill would therefore expand legalized gaming while redirecting a portion of gaming-related revenue to education and infrastructure purposes.
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented legislative debate or recorded sentiment in the supplied materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to appeal to both gaming interests and public-purpose funding advocates by pairing legalization of mobile wagering with dedicated revenue for scholarships and road repair. The structure of the bill suggests an effort to present the proposal as a regulated expansion of gaming rather than a broad loosening of gambling law.
The main points of contention likely concern the legalization of mobile sports betting itself, the scope of online wagering permitted, and the bill’s revenue allocation. The bill explicitly rejects interactive gaming while allowing online sports pools and race books, which may draw debate over whether the line between permitted wagering and prohibited interactive gaming is sufficiently clear. Another likely issue is market structure: licensed casinos may contract with only a limited number of platforms, and platforms must operate through casino licensees rather than holding standalone gaming licenses. Additional controversy may arise from the 21-and-over age limit, the use of geolocation and account restrictions, and the diversion of gaming revenue to the HOPE Scholarship Program and road and bridge fund instead of broader general revenue.