177% up to 5BTC + 77 Free Spins!
New players only. Exclusive Welcome Bonus of 177% + 77 Free Spins
Mississippi’s latest push to legalize online sports betting has stalled, taking an effort to ban sweepstakes casinos down with it. Lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on Senate Bill 2510 (S.B. 2510) before the March 31 deadline, marking another setback for online gambling expansion in the state.
Initially, the Senate passed S.B. 2510 in February with a unanimous 51-0 vote. The bill focused on restricting online gambling, including sweepstakes casinos. However, when the Mississippi House of Representatives revised the bill in March, they inserted provisions to legalize statewide online sports betting. The Senate rejected these amendments, leading to the formation of a conference committee to resolve the differences.
By Monday night, the Mississippi legislature’s website confirmed the bill was dead, as lawmakers failed to reach a compromise.
With S.B. 2510 off the table, efforts to legalize online sports betting in Mississippi will have to wait until at least 2026. The failed bill also means no immediate statutory ban on sweepstakes casinos. While regulators could still take independent action against sweeps operators, lawmakers will not impose criminal penalties or a statewide ban for now.
The resistance to online sports betting stems from concerns that it could harm Mississippi’s land-based casino industry. While legal sports betting exists in the state, it remains limited to retail sportsbooks at brick-and-mortar casinos. Some lawmakers worry that allowing mobile betting statewide would reduce in-person gambling revenue.
The House previously passed an online sports betting bill in February, only for it to die in a Senate committee in March. Attaching the proposal to an anti-sweepstakes bill ultimately proved unsuccessful.
The Mississippi legislature is set to adjourn on April 6, leaving online sports betting and sweepstakes casino regulation unresolved. Until new legislation gains traction, Mississippi bettors will remain limited to in-person wagering at licensed casinos.