Mississippi lawmakers remain divided over mobile sports betting, with Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann calling for another Senate rejection. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar says the state must regulate a market that already exists.
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Hosemann focused his opposition on gambling harm rather than tax revenue. He argued that constant phone access and sportsbook alerts create added risk, especially for younger adults.
“Online mobile sports betting increases the risk of gambling-related harm and addiction compared with traditional in-person betting. Our young adults are particularly susceptible and can receive push notifications to bet on their phones 24/7,” Hosemann wrote.
He also said the previous House plan included a 25% casino tax cut, produced no new jobs and carried wider social costs.
“The Senate should continue to reject this harmful legislation,” he wrote.
Lamar offered a different choice. Mississippi can authorize mobile betting through existing casino operators, he said, or devote more resources to stopping offshore sportsbooks.
“Everybody who wants to place wagers on their mobile device does it already today. And so to come out with a statement saying we don’t need it is, in the most respectful way possible, it’s really tone deaf to the reality of what’s going on in Mississippi right now,” Lamar said.
Legal proposals filed in 2026 included geolocation, age verification and a minimum age of 21. However, mobile sports betting again failed to clear the legislature.
“Either legalize mobile sports betting and allow our current casino operators to help regulate that environment, or enforce the law as it stands today and really investigate and go after these folks who are profiting off of Mississippians illegally,” Lamar said.
Lamar does not expect Senate resistance to end future House efforts, leaving Mississippi mobile sports betting set for another legislative fight.