The Mississippi House of Representatives will push for the legalization of online sports betting for the third consecutive year, with House Gaming Committee Chairman Casey Eure once again initiating the proposal. This proposal includes a key adjustment — all online sports betting revenue will be directed to fill the funding gap in the public employee retirement system, which is currently only 55% funded, with unfunded liabilities amounting to $26 billion. Eure hopes this amendment will garner support from the Senate, which has rejected the proposal twice before. Mississippi legalized in-person sports betting at casinos in 2018 and is now pushing for online options, aiming to combat the black market, protect consumers, and create new revenue streams for physical casinos. Relevant U.S. state gambling legislation and compliance standards can be referenced on the PASA website.
Proposal Core: Revenue Directed to Fill $26 Billion Pension Gap
The highlight of this proposal is the clear designation of funds, directly addressing a critical financial pain point for the state:
Addressing the pension crisis: The public employee retirement system has a severe funding shortfall, with only 55% of the necessary funds in place, and $26 billion in unfunded liabilities posing a significant fiscal pressure on the state government;
Directed fund allocation: All revenue generated from online sports betting will be fully injected into the retirement system, rather than being dispersed, in an effort to gain more political support;
Multiple added values: Eure states that legalizing online sports betting can combat illegal black markets, protect minors from gambling, and provide consumers with safety under regulated supervision.
Proposal Details: Continuing Cooperation Model + New Protective Measures
This proposal essentially continues the core framework of last year, while adding targeted provisions:
Unchanged cooperation model: Allows each casino in the state to partner with up to two online platforms, a provision that helped last year's proposal pass the House with 88 votes in favor and 10 against;
New protective measures: Retains the "Casino Loss Mitigation Fund" established last year, using sports betting tax revenue to subsidize potentially impacted casinos; also introduces a new ban on using credit cards to fund sports betting accounts;
Empowering physical casinos: Eure emphasizes that online operations can bring new revenue streams to offline casinos, consolidating their market position, rather than creating competition.
Main Obstacles: Senate Opposition + Industry Concerns
The implementation of the proposal still faces multiple barriers, with the root causes of the previous two failures not fully resolved:
Key Senate figures oppose: Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount has consistently obstructed related legislation, believing that the revenue potential of online sports betting is insufficient to support its legalization, and has previously stated that he would not advance the bill "unless requested by the state gaming commission";
Internal industry concerns: Independent casinos in the state are cautious about the legislation, fearing that allowing large out-of-state companies into the online market could take away their share, and these casinos have significant influence over legislators;
Complex political games: Brant Aiden, Vice President of Government Affairs at Fanatics Gaming and Betting, openly states that the remaining states that have not legalized online sports betting "are very difficult to advance," with tribal casinos, commercial casinos, and other stakeholders' interests intertwined, forming a significant political barrier.
Outlook: Third Attempt Faces Challenges, Industry Not Overly Optimistic
Despite the addition of the "bonus" of filling the pension gap, the industry is not optimistic about the proposal's passage:
Historical shadows linger: Last year, the House passed an amendment to a Senate bill that combined online sports betting provisions with a ban on lottery casinos, but the bill ultimately died in the conference committee;
Core resistance remains: Blount's opposition and internal industry interest conflicts have not been resolved, and whether the proposal can enter the Senate voting stage remains uncertain;
Market opportunities lost: Eure candidly states that the state government is missing out on millions of dollars in revenue due to the illegalization of online sports betting, with these funds instead flowing into the black market.
Whether this "third attempt" can break the deadlock depends on whether the proposal can balance the demands of the Senate, local casinos, and state finances, and consensus still requires time.
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