Mississippi’s relationship with legal sports betting is a complicated one – and it might be on the verge of getting even murkier.
With the prospect of online sports betting on hold until at least 2023, Mississippians might start to travel to other states to get their mobile wagering fix. And that would be a severe blow to a state that has one of the strongest retail sports betting foundations in the United States, with more than two dozen casinos offering sports wagering.
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Caesars is proving to be one of the most aggressively expanding brands in sports betting. Unfortunately, like all major U.S. sportsbooks, they are quick to limit you if you go on a tear and their odds boost promos offer low maximum bet limits.
BetMGM is one of the top-rated sportsbooks in the U.S. offering some of the best live betting odds in the industry. They’re also the largest iGaming operator across the U.S.
FanDuel reigns supreme right now as the No. 1 betting site in America. And it has largely earned that spot on the strength of superior brand recognition, an easy-to-use product, an overwhelming number of markets for North Americaβs most popular sports, and representation in every state in which it is permitted to offer legal sports betting.
DraftKings had a solid reputation as the leading DFS provider in the country, so the shift to legal sports betting felt natural. They offer one of the most voluminous collections of ongoing promos and odds boosts in the industry as they cater to the beginner crowd. However, their reputation has dwindled as outspoken CEO Jason Robins leads the charge of the anti-profitable bettor mentality that runs rampant amongst sportsbooks that are quick to limit winning players.
bet365 is one of the largest and most popular sportsbooks globally. With a well-received mobile app, popular same-game parlays, and a wide variety of sports leagues to bet on itβs no wonder 80 million sports bettors worldwide continue to use bet365.
Online since: 2015
PointsBet’s innovative nature shows that they don’t want to just be another book you place typical bets. Unfortunately, they are quick to limit bettors on a hot streak and limit the number of promos you’re able to take advantage of, making it necessary for you to shop at other books regularly.
With a large variety of ongoing promos and contests featuring Barstool personalities, Barstool Sportsbook is a solid option available for casual bettors.
While this book won’t wow you with its design, you won’t find many apps easier to navigate – or with the sheer volume of sports markets Betway offers. And although you'll find more generous signup offers elsewhere, Betway remains a strong global sports betting brand that deserves to be mentioned among the second-tier sportsbook options in the U.S.
Surprisingly, despite offering retail sports betting in nearly 30 locations across the state, Mississippi still hasn’t green-lit mobile wagering. And while the state’s largest casinos insist they believe in online betting long-term, all four bills introduced in 2022 were promptly scuttled, putting mobile wagering on the shelf until 2023 or later.
When Mississippi does welcome online sports betting, the top sportsbooks in the U.S. will be lining up to gain access. That list will be as long as it is illustrious, and will almost certainly include top-shelf options like FanDuel, Caesars, BetMGM and DraftKings.
The emergence of mobile sports betting in Mississippi will mean plenty of bonuses and offers for anyone making wagers within state lines. We encourage everyone to maximize their bonus and offer exposure, since many of these first-time inducements result in real cash landing in sports bettors’ accounts, with little playthrough required (for the most part).
π Launch Date | Aug. 1, 2018 |
π° # of Betting Sites | 0 |
π± Online Sports Betting | β No |
π° Retail Sports Betting | β Yes |
π₯οΈ Online Casino | β No |
π Retail Casino | β Yes |
π College Sports Betting | β Yes |
π 2022 Population (est.) | 2.96 million |
π΅ 2021 Betting Handle | $585 million |
πΈ Tax Rate | 12 percent |
When online sports betting arrives in MS, you can consult our top list for the best sports betting options available to you. Our interactive list will allow you to sort sportsbooks based on a number of criteria, including banking options, bonuses and quality of customer service.
If you’re looking for more information before making your choice, be sure to check out our detailed, unbiased reviews for each of the top sportsbooks in Mississippi once online sports betting arrives. This is especially important if you want to understand how each book’s bonus offers work.
Registration requirements will vary slightly by sportsbook, but most follow the same protocols. Be sure to have your personal information (name, address, phone number) and credit card details (number, expiry date, CVV) handy.
Once you’re comfortable with how your sportsbook’s new signup bonus works, it will be time to make your initial deposit and claim that sweet bonus. The majority of first-time offers for Mississippi residents should come in one of two forms:
Congratulations! You’re ready to place a wager. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the app interface before diving in. Most mobile operators make it easy for new sports bettors to navigate, but it’s still a good idea to know where everything is.
From there, you can place any type of wager you like; the most popular bet types are the moneyline, spread or total. You can also dive into team or player props, or even kick things off with a futures bet.
Once you have the desired wager(s) in your betting card, take one last look to ensure you’ve made the selections you want. If everything is good, simply click the “Bet” button – and you’re off!
Mississippi’s sports wagering history is a tale of two races: One in which the Magnolia State was ahead of the pack, and another in which it continues to lag behind.
Here’s a look at Mississippi’s sports betting history:
A bill aimed at legalizing daily fantasy sports (H 967) had a much more significant impact than it had intended. While the bill primarily focused on the framework for legal DFS, it also altered provisions in the Gaming Control Act of 1972 – specifically, those that dealt with the prohibition of sports betting.
The bill passed, giving Mississippi the authority to not only allow daily fantasy sports, but to also permit sports betting if the federal government ever repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
The impact of that 2017 DFS bill became a major factor the following year, as the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May. Mere hours after the repeal, lawmakers had regulations in place for the presence of legal sports betting.
It took just 30 days after that for the Mississippi Gaming Commission to begin offering sports wagering licenses to casinos. And on August 1, Gold Strike and Beau Rivage made history as the first two Mississippi casinos to offer legal sports betting.
Mississippi’s expediency paid off – literally. By getting legal betting in place ahead of the 2018 NFL season, the state took in $157 million over its first five months of operation; that number grew to $369 million in 2019 as more casinos jumped into the fray.
With retail sports betting humming along, it only made sense for Mississippi lawmakers to look at adding online wagering to the state’s offering. And that’s what Democrat Cedric Burnett had in mind when he filed Bill HB 172 in January.
The bill would allow every Mississippi casino to offer mobile sports betting that players could use anywhere in the state, rather than from only inside the building. But the bill didn’t get past committee before the March 3 deadline, effectively taking mobile sports betting off the table for 2020.
Lawmakers redoubled their efforts to bring mobile sports betting to Mississippi. But a pair of bills (SB 2732, HB 1042) that would have made online betting legal across the state don’t make it past committee early in the year.
Undaunted, lawmakers pushed several more sports betting bills into the legislature from the latter stages of 2021 into the early weeks of 2022. All four of them would have allowed for mobile sports wagering outside casinos – and all four promptly died in committee, dashing any hopes for online betting before 2023.
Like most states, Mississippi has put safeguards in place to ensure that bettors have a way out of any potential trouble spots.
The Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling is the state’s main resource for players who seek help. It provides access to Gamblers’ Anonymous and references to additional gambling resources and counseling services.
Visit the Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling site.
It will come as no surprise to see a rather extensive list of major professional and amateur sports available to Mississippi bettors – a list that includes (but is not limited to):
That doesn’t leave much off the table, but there are three major markets in which wagering in Mississippi is prohibited:
Wondering which sportsbooks will be the first to market when Mississippi finally opens up for business on the online betting front? Just take a look at all of the heavy hitters who already have a stake in the state’s retail betting industry, which is one of the most expansive in the entire country.
Here are the places where you can bet at in-person sportsbooks in Mississippi:
1st Jackpot Casino Tunica (The SportsBook at 1st Jackpot Casino, 1450 Jackpot Blvd, Tunica Resorts, MS, 38664)
Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg (The End Zone Sportsbook, 4116 Washington St, Vicksburg, MS, 39180)
Bally's Vicksburg Casino (VB Sportsbook, 1380 Warrenton Rd, Vicksburg, MS, 39180)
Beach View Casino Resort (Sports Book, 3215 W Beach Blvd, Gulfport, MS, 39501)
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino (BetMGM Sportsbook, 875 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Boomtown Casino Biloxi (The SportsBook at Boomtown Casino Biloxi, 676 Bayview Ave, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Bok Homa Casino (Sportsbook at Timeout Lounge, 1 Choctaw Rd, Heidelberg, MS, 39439)
Fitz Tunica Casino & Hotel (Sportsbook at Fitz, 711 Lucky Ln, Tunica Resorts, MS, 38664)
Gold Strike Casino Resort (MGM Sportsbook, 1010 Casino Center Dr, Robinsonville, MS, 38664)
Golden Moon Hotel & Casino (Sportsbook at Timeout Lounge, 13541 MS-16, Philadelphia, MS, 39350)
Golden Nugget Biloxi (The Sports Book at Michael Patrick’s, 151 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Hard Rock Biloxi (Hard Rock Sportsbook, 777 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Harlow's Casino Resort & Spa (TwinSpires Sportsbook, 4280 Harlow’s Blvd, Greenville, MS, 38701)
Harrah's Gulf Coast (Caesars Sportsbook, 280 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Hollywood Casino & Resort Gulf Coast (The SportsBook at Hollywood Gulf Coast, 711 Hollywood Blvd, Bay St Louis, MS, 39520)
Hollywood Casino Tunica (The SportsBook at Hollywood Casino Tunica, 1150 Casino Strip Resort Blvd, Tunica Resorts, MS, 38664)
Horseshoe Tunica Hotel & Casino (Caesars Sportsbook, 1021 Casino Center Dr, Robinsonville, MS, 38664)
IP Casino Resort (FanDuel Sportsbook, 850 Bayview Ave, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Island View Casino Resort (Sports Book, 3300 W Beach Blvd, Gulfport, MS, 39501)
Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lula (Caesars Sportsbook, 777 Isle of Capri Pkwy, Lula, MS, 38644)
Magnolia Bluffs Casino (Playmakers Sportsbook, 7 Roth Hill Road, Natchez, MS, 39120)
Palace Casino Resort (CONTACT Sports and Race Book, 158 Howard Ave, Biloxi, MS, 39530)
Riverwalk Casino and Hotel (TwinSpires Sportsbook, 1046 Warrenton Rd, Vicksburg, MS, 39180)
Sam's Town Casino (FanDuel Sportsbook, 1477 Casino Strip Resort Blvd, Robinsonville, MS, 38664)
Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort (DraftKings Sportsbook, 9380 Central Ave, D'Iberville, MS, 39540)
Silver Slipper Casino Hotel (Slipper Sports Book, 5000 S Beach Blvd, Bay St Louis, MS, 39520)
Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel (The Sports Book, 1980 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS, 39531)
Trop Casino Greenville (Caesars Sportsbook, 199 N Lakefront Rd, Greenville, MS, 38701)
WaterView Casino (WaterView Sports Book, 3990 Washington St, Vicksburg, MS, 39180)
With no mobile sports betting in place, Mississippi has been using strength in retail numbers to bolster its all-time handle. Hereβs a look at Mississippiβs monthly sports betting handle beginning in 2018:
Month | Handle |
August | $6.3 million |
September | $31.8 million |
October | $32.9 million |
November | $44.5 million |
December | $41.8 million |
Total | $157 million |
Month | Handle |
January | $35.2 million |
February | $25.1 million |
March | $32.4 million |
April | $19.2 million |
May | $17.4 million |
June | $15.2 million |
July | $13.4 million |
August | $19.9 million |
September | $37.9 million |
October | $48 million |
November | $56.4 million |
December | $49.1 million |
Total | $369 million |
Month | Handle |
January | $45.2 million |
February | $34.5 million |
March | $10.7 million |
April | --- |
May | $0.2 million |
June | $1.6 million |
July | $7.9 million |
August | $40.5 million |
September | $52.2 million |
October | $61.2 million |
November | $54.4 million |
December | $55.3 million |
Total | $363 million |
Month | Handle |
January | $67.7 million |
February | $47.8 million |
March | $50.5 million |
April | $32.9 million |
May | $36.1 million |
June | $43.1 million |
July | $30.7 million |
August | $21.4 million |
September | $54.8 million |
October | $83.5 million |
November | $60.6 million |
December | $56.8 million |
Total | $585 million |
Month | Handle |
January | $66.5 million |
February | $40.9 million |
March | $47.9 million |
April | $35.5 million |
May | $29.2 million |
June | $25 million |
July | $18.3 million |
August | $21.2 million |
September | $43.1 million |
October | $56.2 million |
Total | $383.7 million |
It took just over a year for Mississippi to surpass the $50-million mark in handle for a single month, and October 2020 saw the state cruise past the $60-million plateau. Exactly one year later, Mississippians smashed the previous record by more than $15 million, establishing a new single-month mark of $83.5 million.
Sports betting operators are required to pay a 12 percent tax on gross revenues, with eight percent going to the state and four percent going to the local governments.
The good news: Bettors have nearly 30 retail options at their disposal across the state. Unfortunately, there is no online sports betting option at the moment, aside from a few retail locations that only permit mobile wagering while on casino grounds.
You can create an account, deposit, make bets and withdraw using any regulated mobile sports betting app in Mississippi, as long as you are within state borders. Be sure to complete all of your transactions before you leave, however; once you’re outside the state, you will no longer be able to access your account(s).
Esports betting is currently prohibited in Mississippi.
Mississippi slots in at No. 34 among U.S. states in population at 2.96 million people (2022 estimate).
The Mississippi Gaming Commission has jurisdiction over sports betting in the state. You’ll find plenty of info on the website, including gaming forms and procedures, monthly reports – and even a way to report illegal gambling going on in the state.
While there are a number of less-heralded sportsbooks plying their trade in the Magnolia State, we have to assume that the major players will be at the front of the line when Mississippi approves online sports betting. That list includes DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel, BetMGM, PointsBet and Barstool, among others.