Mississippi sports betting revenue climbs to $6.7 million in January

Sports betting revenue in Mississippi shot up 31.4% year-on-year to $6.7 million in January despite a decrease in overall betting activity. In addition to surpassing January 2023's revenue of $5.1 million, January 2024 was also 36.7% up from December 2023's $4.9 million.

These increases came despite the Magnolia State registering a 22% decline in handle from $57.2 million in January last year to $44.6 million in the same month this year. Further, the total handle for January was 8.8% less than the $48.9 million in December 2023.

Coastal casinos continued to attract the most bets, with $29.1 million in retail wagers and $4.0 million in revenue. American football betting accounted for the majority of revenue at these venues, with $1.6 million generated from $12.0 million in bets.

Meanwhile, Central casinos saw $1.5 million in revenue from $9.1 million in bets. Parlay bets provided the highest return for these venues, with casinos seeing revenue of $1.1 million from $4.0 million bets. Northern casinos recorded $1.2 million in revenue from $6.4 million in bets, with American football wagers contributing $631,180 in revenue from $2.1 million in bets.

The latest monthly report comes as legislative efforts to legalize online sports betting are underway. Currently, residents can only legally wager on sports at licensed retail sportsbooks. Gaining traction, House Bill 774 cleared the House and entered the Senate early this month.    

The Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act would pave the way for the legalization of online sports betting in the state, aiming to bring the state in line with the 29 others that have already embraced the practice. The bill cleared the House by a vote of 97-14.

The bill proposes permitting all 26 land-based casinos in Mississippi to offer online sports betting, with each casino partnering with one licensed platform to offer wagering. 

Elsewhere, bills HB271 and HB635 also aim to legalize sports betting. The emergence of new bills follows last year's HB606 bill, which established a Mississippi sports betting task force to assess the industry.