Mississippi’s sports betting market saw growth across handle and revenue last month.
According to figures from the Mississippi Gaming Commission, sports betting revenue in Mississippi rose to $4.6m in January a 64.5% increase on the $2.8m generated in January 2019. January’s revenue also represents a significant month-on-month increase on the $3.5m generated in December.
Sports betting handle in January hit $45.2m, a 28.4% increase on the $35.2m wagered in January 2019.
Breaking down the figures
The MGC places Mississippi’s casino sportsbooks into three different categories based on their location – coastal, central and northern.
Mississippi’s Coastal casinos were once again the most successful venues in the state after processing $30.1m in sports wagers, generating $3.1m in betting revenue. Coastal betting handle increased from the $21.2m wagered last January while betting revenue increased 72.2% on the $1.8m generated last January.
Casinos with sportsbooks in the Northern region came in second place after generating $869,267 in betting revenue last month from $10.9m in sports wagers.
Mississippi’s central casinos came in third place in January after bettors in the state wagered $4.2m on sports leaving the sportsbooks with $646,984 in sports betting revenue.
Sports betting in Mississippi
Mississippi was one of the few states to legalize sports betting in 2018. In 2017, the state repealed a section of its law that prohibited sports betting and began work on forging sports betting regulations. Once the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, Mississippi went on to launch sports betting operations in August 2018.
Currently, sports betting in Mississippi is restricted to land-based sportsbooks at licensed casinos, However, Mississippi Representative Cedric Burnett has revived HB 172, a bill that would authorise mobile sports betting in the state of Mississippi.
At the time of writing, mobile sports betting apps can only be used on licensed casino property. The proposed legislation would permit state-wide sports betting via approved platforms.
