University of Mississippi Study Shows Extent of Student Sports Betting
As Mississippi legislators prepare to revisit proposals to legalize mobile sports betting, a new University of Mississippi study has shed light on gambling behavior among the state's college students.
Surveying nearly 1,600 students, researchers found that almost 60% of those who gambled in the past year had placed online bets through "legal" sportsbooks, despite mobile Mississippi sports betting being prohibited. The findings suggest that many students access the best sportsbooks, potentially using virtual private networks (VPNs).
The study was conducted by the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing in collaboration with several university researchers. It revealed that 32% of respondents placed bets via family or friends, 18% wagered in person at casinos, 15% used offshore sportsbooks, and another 15% bet with illegal bookies.
Analysts estimate that Mississippi residents wager billions of dollars annually on offshore platforms, but the survey indicates that young bettors also find ways to use licensed operators.
VPN use may have increased after a 2023 state law required age verification for pornographic sites, prompting some providers to block Mississippi users. Most sports gamblers in the study demonstrated little to no risk of becoming problem gamblers. However, 10% showed a moderate level of risk, and 6% qualified as possibly having a gambling disorder.
Sports betting was the most common online gambling activity, with the NFL, college football, and basketball among the top wagered sports.
Legislative efforts to expand Mississippi online sports betting stall
Mississippi's most recent effort to legalize internet sports betting has faltered, as has legislation to ban internet sweepstakes casinos. Senate Bill 2510, sponsored by Sen. Joey Fillingane to more plainly define illegal internet gambling and to outlaw sweepstakes casinos, passed the Senate unanimously but died in conference committee.
After reaching the House, the bill's path was altered by the legislature as they amended the bill and added a proposal by Rep. Casey Eure to make online sportsbooks legal. This was due to Eure's own stand-alone sports betting bill passing through the House but getting stuck in the Senate. The Senate did not approve of the House changes on SB 2510 and sent it to a conference committee, where the legislation failed.
Mississippi has permitted in-person wagering on sports since 2018, but only allows bets in casinos or mobile applications utilized on location. Attempts to go statewide with online bets have consistently stalled, even though the Mississippi Legislature established a Mobile Online Sports Betting Task Force in 2023 to research the matter.
SB 2510's sweepstakes casino ban feature was in line with related legislation making headway across the U.S., such as recent attempts in Florida, New York, and Maryland. Various states have advanced similar bills through committees, but have not voted on a full statewide ban.
