Mississippi Senate rejects sweepstakes ban bill after sports betting amendment
Lawmakers in the state have invited conference regarding SB 2,510 as the Senate and House prepare to meet ahead of April 6 legislative deadline
The Mississippi Senate has rejected a bill that proposed banning sweepstakes and legalizing online sports betting, with further amendments required should the legislation be made into law.
Instead, the Senate has invited conference on SB 2,510, a bill introduced by Senator Joey Fillingane that moves to outlaw online sweepstakes casinos and make it a felony offence to offer them.
The legislation notes the offence would be punishable by a $100,000 fine, a prison sentence of up to 10 years, and a forfeiture of assets.
The bill has since returned to its original chamber, having received approval from both the Senate and the House.
It details how the state would take a strict approach on illegal online casino and sweepstakes activity, as well as offer land-based casinos the chance to partner with online sportsbooks or racebooks, with two skins granted to each retail location.
While at the House stage of legislation progression, representative Casey Eure, the House Gaming Commission chair, amended the language of SB 2,510 to include sports wagering before the bill was returned for conference.
Eure has previously aimed to legalize sports betting in Mississippi in the form of HB 1,302, but the proposal failed to progress past the Senate Gaming Committee earlier on in the current legislative session.
Fillingane’s bill was unanimously backed by the Senate last month via a 51-0 vote in favor, before sports betting language was included.
After sports wagering was added to SB 2,510, it passed the House with a vote of 83-19-18 earlier this month and returned to the Senate.
Yesterday, March 27, saw SB 2,510 introduced to the Senate and following a short voice vote that declined to concur. Senators are expected to meet with members of the House to potentially find a compromise ahead of the legislative deadline on April 6.
Concerns from retail betting locations and some industry stakeholders over the prospect of cannibalization were online sports betting to be legalized have stalled progress in the past.
There is also significant opposition to online sports betting within the Senate, most notably from Eure’s counterpart, chair of the Senate Gaming Committee David Blount.
The Democrat has previously explained that he would only approve an online sports betting bill during this legislative session if it was at the request of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
Eure has amended the language of other bills to feature sports betting, including a piece of legislation mainly related to coastal tidelands.
Blount responded by telling local media that he disapproved of the idea of adding irrelevant topics to legislation.