States / Mississippi
Mississippi
- Retail sports betting has been legal since 2018, but only at licensed casinos, including via geofenced apps on casino premises.
- There is no statewide mobile betting, no iGaming and no video gaming terminals outside casinos.
- A state lottery has sold tickets since November 2019.
More detail
- Sports betting. Mississippi legalized retail sports wagering in 2018 using existing Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) rulemaking authority under the 1990 Gaming Control Act. A 2017 law (H.B. 967) had amended the Act's "sports pool" definition. Sports wagering, like all MGC-licensed casino gaming, is limited to the state's licensed land-based and riverboat casinos along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River.
- Tribal gaming. Two Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians tribal casinos operate under a Class III compact.
- Mobile betting. "Mobile" wagering exists only on casino premises via geofenced apps, not statewide online betting. The House has repeatedly passed bills to legalize statewide mobile sports wagering, most recently in 2026. The Senate Gaming Committee has killed each attempt, often entangled with competing bills to ban sweepstakes casinos.
- Fantasy sports. The 2017 law also created a licensing framework for paid-entry fantasy sports contests, now the Mississippi Fantasy Contests Act.
- Lottery. Mississippi created a state lottery by statute in 2018 (the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law). Ticket sales began in November 2019.
- Other gaming. The state has no commercial card rooms, no iGaming or online poker, and no authorized video gaming terminals outside casinos. Truck-stop VGT bills are reintroduced most sessions.
Reviewed Oct 10, 2026 · 57 sources
Legal status
LiveLegal, not launchedLimitedContestedProhibitedNot authorizedRepealedNA
| Vertical | Status | Launched | Model | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports (online) | Limited | Jul 21, 2018 | Hybrid | Mobile/online wagering is authorized only on the physical premises of a licensed casino (geofenced apps usable only while on-site), not statewide. The House has passed statewide mobile-wagering bills (e.g., the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, H.B. 4074) in multiple sessions through 2026, but the Senate Gaming Committee (chaired by opponents including Sen. David Blount) has killed every Senate companion or House-passed bill to date, often because it became entangled with competing sweepstakes-casino-ban legislation in conference. Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-5; Miss. Admin. Code Title 13, Part 15 [1],[2] |
| Sports (retail) | Live | Jul 21, 2018 | Hybrid | Mississippi did not pass new sports-betting legislation after Murphy v. NCAA; it instead relied on a 2017 amendment (H.B. 967) that broadened the Gaming Control Act's "sports pool" definition to include wagers on collegiate and professional sporting/athletic events, then had the MGC adopt sports-wagering regulations under its existing rulemaking authority (approved for comment May 17, 2018; effective ~30 days after final adoption). Legal wagering at MGC-licensed casinos began July 21, 2018. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians separately authorized sports betting at Pearl River Resort and Bok Homa Casino in 2018 under its own gaming-commission regulations and Class III compact. Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-5 ("sports pool" definition, as amended by H.B. 967 (2017)); Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-33(3); Miss. Admin. Code Title 13, Part 15 [3],[4],[5] |
| Online casino | Not authorized | No Mississippi statute authorizes online casino games (slots/table/live dealer); casino gaming is confined to licensed land-based/riverboat premises under the Gaming Control Act.[6] | ||
| Online poker | Not authorized | No statute authorizes online peer-to-peer poker; poker is offered only live at licensed casino poker rooms.[6] | ||
| Commercial casinos | Live | Legalized 1990 | Competitive | Licensed land-based and dockside/riverboat casinos operate along the Gulf Coast (Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis/D'Iberville) and the Mississippi River (Tunica, Greenville, Vicksburg, Natchez), plus smaller inland counties authorized by local option; over two dozen licensed properties as of recent MGC reporting. Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-1 et seq. (Mississippi Gaming Control Act) [6] |
| Tribal casinos | Live | Monopoly Tribal | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians operates Pearl River Resort (Golden Moon and Silver Star casinos) and Bok Homa Casino in Neshoba County under a Class III compact approved by the Department of the Interior. 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. (IGRA); Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the State of Mississippi (1993, amended 1994) [7],[8] | |
| Lottery | Live | Nov 25, 2019 | Monopoly State | Enacted in a special legislative session in August 2018 (House passed 58-54 on Aug. 28, 2018); scratch-off ticket sales began Nov. 25, 2019, ahead of a planned Dec. 1, 2019 target, with more than 1,200 retailers at launch and over $2.5 million in first-day sales. Proceeds initially fund road/bridge infrastructure (via the state highway fund) up to a statutory cap, then the Education Enhancement Fund. Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law (2018); Miss. Code Ann. § 27-115-1 et seq. [9],[10] |
| iLottery | Not authorized | No evidence found of Mississippi Lottery online ticket sales; tickets are sold through licensed retail locations.[9] | ||
| Daily fantasy | Live | Legalized Jul 1, 2017 | Competitive | H.B. 967 (2017) replaced a 2016 law that had a one-year sunset; it requires MGC licensure ($5,000 fee) for fantasy-contest operators with 100+ Mississippi players drawn from the general public, bars operator employees from playing, and bars players under 18 (secondary sources conflict on whether the enacted minimum age is 18 or 21; not resolved against the enrolled bill text in this research). Before 2017, the Mississippi Attorney General had opined that paid-entry fantasy sports was illegal gambling under state law. Mississippi Fantasy Contests Act, Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-301 et seq. (enacted by H.B. 967 (2017)) [11],[12],[13] |
| VGTs / VLTs | Not authorized | No video gaming terminals are authorized at bars/truck stops outside licensed casinos. Bills to let the Mississippi Lottery Corporation authorize a limited number of truck-stop VGTs per congressional district (e.g., H.B. 76 in 2026, H.B. 452 in 2025, H.B. 855 in 2019) have been introduced repeatedly since at least 2019 without passing.[14] | ||
| Historical horse racing | Not authorized | No statute authorizes historical horse racing (HHR) terminals in Mississippi; gaming devices are confined to MGC-licensed casino premises under the Gaming Control Act.[6] | ||
| Sweepstakes casinos | Contested | No dedicated sweepstakes-casino statute has passed; ban bills passed the Senate twice in a row (SB 2104 in 2026, 52-0, and a 2025 predecessor) but died in the House both times — in 2025 after the House attached online sports-wagering language that failed in conference, and in 2026 after the bill stalled in the House Gaming Committee ahead of the March 3 crossover deadline. Enforcement has instead used existing gambling law: on June 17, 2025, the Mississippi Gaming Commission sent cease-and-desist letters to 10 unlicensed operators, including Chumba Casino (VGW), stating publicly "there are no legal exceptions for online sports books or so-called 'sweepstakes' casinos." VGW subsequently wound down its dual-currency Sweeps Coins program in Mississippi (last redemption Sept. 4, 2025) while continuing free-play Gold Coins; a separate private suit (Saulny v. VGW, removed to S.D. Miss.) seeks recovery of gambling losses under Mississippi's money-lost-at-gaming statute. Other sweepstakes brands (e.g., Stake.us, Pulsz) were not named in the June 2025 letters per sources reviewed.[15],[16],[17],[18] | ||
| Prediction markets | Not authorized | Changed from "contested" to "not_authorized" on audit (2026-10-10): no Mississippi Gaming Commission cease-and-desist letter, lawsuit, or formal regulatory action naming a specific CFTC-registered event-contract platform (e.g., Kalshi, Polymarket) was identified. Mississippi has taken a position at the policy level instead: Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined a multistate AG coalition letter (May 4, 2026) urging federal regulators to return control of mobile sports betting to the states, framing prediction markets as "entertainment-based gambling rather than tools for financial risk management." This is advocacy aimed at a federal regulator, not a cease-and-desist, lawsuit, injunction, or ruling against the platforms, so it does not meet the national rule's bar for "contested"; contracts remain available to Mississippi residents statewide under claimed CFTC/federal preemption as of this file's as_of date. Mississippi sits in the Fifth Circuit, which has not ruled on Kalshi's CFTC-preemption theory as of Oct. 2026.[19] | ||
| Skill games | Prohibited | No skill-game carve-out exists in Mississippi law. The Mississippi Gaming Commission's public FAQ states that under Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-1 et seq., any device requiring consideration, involving an element of chance, and offering the potential to win a reward of value is an illegal gambling device/slot machine subject to seizure and destruction under § 97-33-7, regardless of any skill element. The Mississippi Supreme Court (Wright/Henson line of cases construing Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-5(ff)) held that a machine need only have the "potential for reward" to be a slot machine subject to seizure, so purported "skill" games are treated the same as slot machines outside MGC-licensed casinos. No current MS legislative carve-out for gray/skill machines was identified.[20] | ||
| Card rooms | Not authorized | No standalone cardroom licensing framework outside licensed casino poker rooms; the Gaming Control Act does not authorize cardrooms at non-casino venues.[6] | ||
| Lottery couriers | Not authorized | Mississippi Attorney General Opinion (Lynn Fitch's office, responding to Sen. Jeremy England, Feb. 8, 2024) concluded lottery courier services "as described" do not comply with the Lottery Law: "The Lottery Law prohibits any person other than a duly certified lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets to the public," and online reservation/resale via computer, tablet, or smartphone independently violates § 27-115-17(2)(d)'s device-sales ban. "There is currently nothing in the Lottery Law that authorizes the use of lottery couriers in Mississippi." Miss. Code Ann. § 27-115-17(2)(d); Miss. Code Ann. §§ 27-115-5(g), 27-115-65(1) [21] | ||
| Pick'em fantasy | Prohibited | Mississippi Gaming Commission executive director Jay McDaniel wrote fantasy operators in October 2023 stating that house-banked/single-performance pick'em contests are not permitted under the Fantasy Contests Act and that winning outcomes must rest on accumulated statistics across multiple athletes, not one player's single-game performance (i.e., no true player-vs-house pick'em). Underdog shut down its MS pick'em product in February 2024, then relaunched a peer-to-peer "Pick'em Champions" format in September 2025 after MGC review; it is the only MS-licensed real-money pick'em operator. PrizePicks offers only a free (no-prize) version in-state. 2024-2025 bills (H.B. 635, H.B. 874) proposing to amend § 75-76-5 and § 97-33-305 to address digital/modern fantasy formats had not passed as of this research.[22],[23],[24] | ||
| Pari-mutuel | Not authorized | No current Mississippi statute authorizing live pari-mutuel horse or dog racing was identified in this research; no active racetracks were found operating in the state. | ||
| Advance deposit wagering | Not authorized | Mississippi has no operating pari-mutuel racetracks (see pari_mutuel) and no statute authorizing advance-deposit wagering on horse racing. Two bills (H.B. 374 in 1998, H.B. 1524 in 2000) that would have let MGC-licensed casinos run a race book for horse/dog racing both died in committee; no subsequent ADW-specific legislation was identified. | ||
| Charitable gaming | Live | Competitive | Mississippi's Charitable Bingo Law (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-33-50 et seq.) authorizes nonprofit civic, educational, wildlife-conservation and religious organizations to run bingo games, with pull-tabs permitted as a companion game to bingo, and separately exempts qualifying raffles run by and for the benefit of such nonprofits (all proceeds to the organization) from the general gambling statutes (§§ 97-33-1 to 97-33-49) and from the gaming-device provisions of § 75-76-1 et seq. Licensed organizations report to the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Page not fetched (PDF text unreadable); confirmed via search-result summary of the statute text, not a verbatim excerpt.[25] | |
| Esports betting | Contested | The current Mississippi Gaming Commission "sports pool" rule defines it as the business of accepting wagers on "collegiate or professional sporting events or athletic events or other similar events," without naming esports; whether esports fall under "other similar events" has no published Commission interpretation. A House-passed 2024 bill (H.B. 774) would have explicitly defined "sporting event" to include "electronic sports events, competitive video game events, and other events the Commission authorizes," but this research could not confirm it was enacted into law. 13 Miss. Code R. § 9-1.1; Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-89(2) [26],[27] | ||
| Social casino | Contested | Pure free-to-play social casino apps with no cash-out mechanism were not directly addressed in statutes reviewed. Dual-currency sweepstakes-model social casinos are the subject of active MGC enforcement and private litigation; see sweepstakes_casino. VGW's brands continue to operate in Mississippi as traditional (single-currency, no-cash-prize) social casinos following the 2025 Sweeps Coins wind-down.[18] |
Sports betting in Mississippi: status, tax rate, sportsbooks and bills →
Tax rates
| Vertical | Channel | Rate | Base | Tier | Promos deductible | Since | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial casinos | total | 4% | GGR | $0–$50.0K | 1990 | Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-177 Graduated monthly state gross-revenue fee under the 1990 Gaming Control Act: 4% on the first $50,000 of monthly gross revenue, 6% on the next $84,000 (to $134,000), 8% on gross revenue over $134,000. This research confirmed the current bracket amounts via the Dept. of Revenue's gaming page (retrieved 2026-10-10) but did not isolate the exact year each bracket's dollar thresholds were last amended, so 1990 marks the Gaming Control Act's origin, not a confirmed date for these specific thresholds. Local cities/counties (e.g., Biloxi, Gulfport, Tunica County, Harrison County) separately levy an additional ~3.2% monthly gross-revenue fee under individual local/private legislation; not all gaming counties impose a local fee. [6] | |
| Commercial casinos | total | 6% | GGR | $50.0K–$134K | 1990 | Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-177[6] | |
| Commercial casinos | total | 8% | GGR | $134K–∞ | 1990 | Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-177[6] | |
| Daily fantasy | total | 8% | NET_REVENUE | Jul 1, 2017 | Mississippi Fantasy Contests Act, Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-301 et seq. 8% tax on "net revenue," defined as total entry fees collected from all players less total cash prizes paid out. [11] | ||
| Sports (online) | online | 8% | GGR | Jul 21, 2018 | Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-177 Same graduated casino gross-revenue tax applies to on-premises mobile sports-wagering revenue; no statewide online product exists to tax separately. [29] | ||
| Sports (retail) | retail | 8% | GGR | Jul 21, 2018 | Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-177 Sports-wagering revenue is taxed as ordinary casino gross gaming revenue under the same graduated § 75-76-177 schedule (top rate 8% applies once a licensee's total monthly gaming revenue, including sports wagering, exceeds $134,000); secondary sources describe this simply as "8% state tax" on sports wagering specifically. [29] |
Rules and requirements
Casinos
- Number of tribal gaming facilities
- 3Pearl River Resort's two casinos (Golden Moon, Silver Star) plus Bok Homa Casino, all operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.[7]
- Number of federally recognized tribes with Class III compacts
- 1Only the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has a Class III gaming compact with the state.[8]
Legislation
- Summary of significant pending gambling legislation this session
- Recurring, unresolved fights over (1) legalizing statewide mobile sports wagering (House-passed bills including H.B. 4074 and H.B. 1581 in 2026, killed in the Senate Gaming Committee or Senate Finance Committee) and (2) banning sweepstakes casinos (Senate-passed SB 2104 in 2026 and a 2025 predecessor, both died in the House); a separate Senate bill (SB 2249, 2026) proposed licensing online sports and horse-racing wagering through casino-partnered platforms at a 12% tax, with a Jan. 9, 2027 launch deadline, but did not pass.[15],[1]
Lottery
- Date lottery began sales
- 2019-11-25[9]
Minimum age
- Minimum age to gamble in a commercial casino
- 21Confirmed via Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-155(1)(a): "a person under the age of twenty-one (21) years shall not... [p]lay, be allowed to play, place wagers, or collect winnings, whether personally or through an agent, from any gaming authorized under this chapter." Mississippi Gaming Commission rule 13-2-2-8 similarly will not ordinarily license anyone under 21. Found via secondary reprint (1999 bill text quoting the statute) and the current Mississippi Administrative Code; the current codified § 75-76-155 text itself was not directly fetched.[28]
- Minimum age to purchase lottery
- 21Confirmed via the Attorney General's lottery-courier opinion, which states lottery retailers "are prohibited from selling lottery tickets to anyone under age 21" per Miss. Code Ann. § 27-115-73.[21]
- Minimum age to place a sports wager
- 21Same 21-and-over requirement applies to sports wagering as a form of gaming "authorized under this chapter" per Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-155(1)(a) (Title 75, Chapter 76 covers sports wagering as well as casino gaming); a narrower 2026 bill (HB 4074) that would have added an explicit under-21 online sports-wagering ban died in committee 2026-03-17, implying the general casino-age statute is relied on for sports wagering today rather than a sports-specific provision.[28]
Notes
- Free-text notes that fit no other field
- Mississippi's sports-wagering authorization is unusual nationally: rather than passing a dedicated sports-betting act, the Legislature in 2017 broadened an existing "sports pool" definition in the Gaming Control Act, and the Mississippi Gaming Commission then used its existing administrative rulemaking authority (modeled partly on Nevada's regulations) to launch retail/on-premises sports wagering in July 2018 without any additional enabling statute.[4]
Sports betting rules
- Wagering on college sports allowed at all
- YesThe 2017-amended "sports pool" definition in § 75-76-5 covers wagers on "collegiate or professional sporting events or athletic events."[2]
- Online sports wagering available statewide (not tethered to premises)
- NoMobile/online sports wagering apps function only while the bettor is physically on a licensed casino's premises (geofenced); no statewide mobile product is authorized as of this research.[1]
Tax revenue
- Where gaming tax revenue goes (education fund
- Casino/sports-wagering gross-revenue tax revenue is state general-fund revenue collected by the Department of Revenue under § 75-76-177; lottery proceeds fund state highway/infrastructure needs up to a statutory annual cap, then flow to the Education Enhancement Fund.[6],[10]
Revenue
| Vertical | Measure | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial casinos | GGR | $1.6B | $2.4B | $2.4B | $2.5B | $2.6B | $2.7B | $1.8B | $2.2B |
| Sports (retail) | Handle | $14.1M |
Commercial casinosMonthly GGR
Monthly3-month average
$100M$200M$300M20182020202220242026Apr 2021 $261M$201M
Licensed operators
| Operator | Brand | Vertical | License | Status | Launched | Partner / venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's Corporation | Hard Rock Casino - Biloxi | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[31] | |
| Bally's Corporation | Bally's Vicksburg | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[32] | |
| Boyd Gaming | IP Casino Resort Spa | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30] | |
| Caesars Entertainment | Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lula | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30] | |
| Caesars Entertainment | Trop Casino Greenville | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[33],[34] | |
| Caesars Entertainment | Harrah's Gulf Coast | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[35] | |
| Caesars Entertainment | Horseshoe Casino and Hotel (Tunica) | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[36] | |
| Cherokee Nation | Gold Strike Casino Resort | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[37],[38] | |
| Churchill Downs Incorporated | Riverwalk Casino Hotel | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[39] | |
| Churchill Downs Incorporated | Harlow's Casino Resort & Spa | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[40] | |
| Foundation Gaming Group | WaterView Casino and Hotel | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[41] | |
| Foundation Gaming Group | Fitzgerald's Casino - Tunica | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[42] | |
| Full House Resorts | Silver Slipper Casino | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[43] | |
| Golden Nugget | Golden Nugget Biloxi | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[44] | |
| Granieri family | Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[45] | |
| Island View Casino Resort | Island View Casino Resort | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[46] | |
| MGM Resorts International | Beau Rivage Casino | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[47] | |
| Palace Casino Resort | Palace Casino Resort | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[48] | |
| PENN Entertainment | 1st Jackpot Casino Tunica | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[49] | |
| PENN Entertainment | Hollywood Casino - Tunica | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[50] | |
| PENN Entertainment | Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[32] | |
| PENN Entertainment | Boomtown Casino - Biloxi | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30] | |
| PENN Entertainment | Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30] | |
| Saratoga Casino Holdings | Magnolia Bluffs Casino | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[51] | |
| Treasure Bay Gaming and Resorts | Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel | Commercial casinos | Commercial casino license | active | [30],[52] |
Enforcement
Penalties against licensed companies
| Date | Against | Action | Amount | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Underdog Sports, LLC | Consent agreement Pick'em fantasy | The Mississippi Gaming Commission's executive director received a disciplinary complaint against pick'em daily-fantasy operator Underdog Sports, LLC and was authorized to execute a stipulation and agreement resolving it; the public agenda does not state the underlying violation or any financial terms. The Commission's agenda gives no further details.[53] |
Actions against unlicensed operators
| Date | Against | Action | Amount | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2025 | Multiple unlicensed online sportsbooks and sweepstakes casinos | Cease and desist | The Mississippi Gaming Commission issued cease-and-desist letters, by mail and electronically, to multiple online operators running sports wagering and/or online casino games in Mississippi without a license, citing state gambling and racketeering statutes and federal laws (UIGEA, Wire Act, Illegal Gambling Business Act), and said it is referring case files for criminal prosecution. The Commission rejected any "free-to-play" defense for sweepstakes-style casinos.[54],[55] |
Tribal gaming
- Compact notices in the Federal Register
- 1 · first notice Jul 15, 1996, latest Jul 15, 1996
Tribal gaming revenue in the NIGC Washington, D.C. Region
NIGC Washington, D.C. RegionFederal fiscal years
$5.0B$10.0B$15.0BFY2019FY2021FY2023FY2025$11.2B
The National Indian Gaming Commission reports revenue only by region. This region also includes Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York.[56]
Compact notices
| Published | Tribe | Notice | Federal Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 1996 | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | Amendment approved | 61 FR 36892 |
The Interior Department publishes a notice when a compact or amendment is approved or takes effect. Older compacts published before 1994 are not included.
Problem gambling
- Name and terms of the statewide self-exclusion program
- Mississippi Gaming Commission statewide Self-Exclusion Program (applies to all MGC-licensed casinos)[57]
- Available exclusion durations (e.g. 1 year
- 3 years (minimum), longer fixed terms, lifetime (only after completing a prior 3-year exclusion)"The minimum amount of time you can exclude is 3 years... You can choose longer periods but cannot choose a lifetime until you have completed at least 3 years."[57]
Economy
- Adults 21 and over
- 2.1M (2024; 3.0M residents)
- Gambling revenue per adult
- $1,135 in 2025 · 2nd of 23 states with a full year of reports$2.4B kept by operators from commercial casinos, divided by adults 21 and over. Tribal casinos and the lottery are not included.
- Gambling taxes collected
- $317M in FY2025 · 2.9% of all state taxes
- Gambling jobs
- 17.8K in 2025 · $39,164 average annual pay
Gambling taxes collectedState fiscal years
$200M$400MFY2013FY2016FY2019FY2022FY2025$317M
Census Bureau tax collections on amusements and pari-mutuel wagering. Most states book casino, sports betting and video gaming taxes here; amusement taxes can also include admissions taxes unrelated to gambling.
Gambling jobsAnnual average
10.0K20.0K30.0K20152017201920212023202517.8K
Casinos, casino hotels, card rooms, bingo halls, off-track betting and slot-route operators, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Racetracks are not included. Jobs at tribal casinos are counted as government jobs.
Gambling jobs by industry, 2025
| Industry | Ownership | Employers | Jobs | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gambling industries | tribal and other government-owned | 2 | 1,154 | $44,905 |
| Gambling industries | privately owned | 27 | 1,090 | $32,630 |
| Casino hotels | tribal and other government-owned | 3 | 1,743 | $32,267 |
| Casino hotels | privately owned | 25 | 13.8K | $40,069 |
Taxes by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Amusement taxes | Pari-mutuel taxes | Share of state taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $310M | $6.6M | 2.90% |
| FY2024 | $313M | $4.4M | 2.99% |
| FY2023 | $320M | $3.3M | 2.98% |
| FY2022 | $188M | $184K | 1.84% |
| FY2021 | $208M | — | 2.20% |
| FY2020 | $149M | — | 1.84% |
| FY2019 | $157M | — | 1.90% |
| FY2018 | $156M | — | 1.98% |
| FY2017 | $158M | — | 2.04% |
| FY2016 | $169M | — | 2.21% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, States (NST-EST2025-ALLDATA); U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections (STC): Historical Dataset; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages, NAICS 7132 (Gambling industries)
Timeline
- May 4, 2026 · Other · Prediction marketsMississippi AG Lynn Fitch joins a multistate coalition letter urging federal regulators to return control of mobile/prediction-market betting to the states[19]
- Mar 3, 2026 · Other · Sweepstakes casinosSB 2104 sweepstakes-casino ban dies in the House Gaming Committee ahead of the crossover deadline, ending the 2026 effort[15]
- Mar 3, 2026 · Other · Sports (online)Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act (H.B. 4074) and companion H.B. 1581 die in the Senate after House passage, extending Mississippi's lack of statewide mobile sports wagering[1]
- Feb 6, 2026 · Other · Sweepstakes casinosMississippi Senate unanimously passes SB 2104 banning internet sweepstakes casinos (52-0)[16]
- Sep 4, 2025 · Restricted · Sweepstakes casinosVGW completes wind-down of its dual-currency Sweeps Coins program in Mississippi (last redemption date) following the MGC cease-and-desist letter[18]
- Jun 17, 2025 · Cease And Desist · Sweepstakes casinosMississippi Gaming Commission sends cease-and-desist letters to 10 unlicensed operators, including offshore sportsbooks and Chumba Casino (VGW)[17]
- Jan 1, 2025 · Other · Sweepstakes casinos2025 Mississippi legislative session sees a Senate-passed sweepstakes-casino ban die in conference after the House attached statewide online sports-wagering language[15]
- Feb 8, 2024 · Other · Lottery couriersMississippi Attorney General issues an opinion concluding lottery ticket courier services are not authorized under the Lottery Law[21]Miss. Att'y Gen. Op. (Feb. 8, 2024, responding to Sen. Jeremy England)
- Nov 25, 2019 · Launched · LotteryMississippi Lottery begins scratch-off ticket sales statewide, more than $2.5 million sold in the first 24 hours[9],[10]
- Aug 28, 2018 · Legalized · LotteryMississippi House gives final passage (58-54) to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law in special session[9]
- Aug 2, 2018 · Launched · Sports (retail)Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians opens its sportsbook at Pearl River Resort/Bok Homa Casino, among the first tribal sportsbooks outside Nevada[5]
- Jul 21, 2018 · Launched · Sports (retail)Legal sports wagering begins at Mississippi Gaming Commission-licensed casinos[3]
- Jun 21, 2018 · Regulation Adopted · Sports (retail)Mississippi Gaming Commission gives final approval to sports-wagering regulations (Title 13, Part 15)[4]
- May 17, 2018 · Regulation Adopted · Sports (retail)Mississippi Gaming Commission releases proposed sports-wagering regulations for public comment[4]
- May 14, 2018 · Court Ruling · Sports (retail)U.S. Supreme Court strikes down PASPA (Murphy v. NCAA), clearing the way for state sports-wagering regimes nationally[3]
- Mar 20, 2017 · Legalized · Daily fantasyGovernor Phil Bryant signs H.B. 967, enacting the Mississippi Fantasy Contests Act and amending the Gaming Control Act's "sports pool" definition[12],[2]2017 Miss. Laws, H.B. 967
- Jan 1, 2016 · Other · Daily fantasyMississippi Attorney General opines that paid-entry daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling under existing state law[13]
Regulators
- Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) — Commercial casinos, Sports (retail), Sports (online), Daily fantasy
- Mississippi Lottery Corporation — Lottery
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Gaming Commission — Tribal casinos, Sports (retail)
Sources
- Mississippi Online Sports Betting Dead For Another Year · Legal Sports Report · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Legislature Returns to Mobile Sports Wagering and Sweepstakes Policy · Jones Walker LLP · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Casinos: Legal Sports Betting Begins July 21, 2018 · Action Network · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- What Has to Happen Before the First Sports Wager in Mississippi? · The National Law Review · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Sports Betting Could Go Live At Tribal Casinos Quickly · Legal Sports Report · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Gaming Tax — General Information · Mississippi Department of Revenue · government other · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“4% on the first $50,000... 6% on the next $84,000... 8% on all gross revenue over $134,000”
- Tribal-State Compact for Regulation of Class III Gaming (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians) · Law Insider (hosted compact document) · compact · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal-State Gaming Compact (Nov. 9, 1994) · U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs · compact · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi State Lottery · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Lottery Sales Hit $3B Mark Since 2019 · LotteryUSA · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Daily Fantasy Sports Scores First Legislative Victory Of 2017 · Legal Sports Report · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Governor Signs DFS Legislation · Global Gaming Business News · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Attorney General Says Daily Fantasy Sports Is Illegal Under State Law · Becker & Poliakoff · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- MS HB76 | 2026 | Regular Session · LegiScan · bill · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi fails to pass sweeps ban & online sports betting bills · SBC Americas · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Begins New Sweepstakes Casino Ban Push with SB2104 · Gambling Insider · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- No Bills? No Problem. Louisiana, Mississippi Send Cease-And-Desist Letters To Sweeps Operators · Sweepsy · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“there are no legal exceptions for online sports books or so-called 'sweepstakes' casinos”
- VGW Mississippi sweepstakes exit 2025 · CasinoBeats · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi demands state control of mobile sports betting, prediction markets · Public Gaming International · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“entertainment-based gambling rather than tools for financial risk management”
- Frequently Asked Questions · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Attorney General Opinion: Lottery Ticket Couriers (responding to Sen. Jeremy England) · Office of the Mississippi Attorney General (Lynn Fitch) · ag opinion · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“There is currently nothing in the Lottery Law that authorizes the use of lottery couriers in Mississippi.”
- MS HB635 | 2024 | Regular Session · LegiScan · bill · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Underdog Shutters Fantasy Pick'em Product In Mississippi · Legal Sports Report · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Underdog Relaunches Champions Pick'Em DFS Games in Mississippi · European Gaming · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Charitable Bingo Law · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- 13 Miss. Code R. § 9-1.1 - General Terms · Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (reproducing Mississippi Administrative Code) · regulation · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi H.B. 774 (2024), House-passed version · Mississippi Legislature (via LegiScan/billstatus.ls.state.ms.us) · bill · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Casino Restricts Visitors To Age 21-Plus · Global Gaming Business News · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Task Force Details Tax Revenue from Online Sports Betting · Covers.com · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Mississippi Gaming Commission Public Information: Monthly Survey Information (Property Data), August 1-31, 2026 · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator report · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Lists 25 operating casinos across Central, Coastal, and Northern regions, each marked 'Sports Wagering: Y.'”
- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Gaming and Leisure Properties. Operating license holder: Bally's Corporation (formerly Twin River Worldwide Holdings); operates under a Hard Rock International franchise.”
- List of casinos in Mississippi · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Bally's Vicksburg (formerly Rainbow, Lady Luck, and Casino Vicksburg); Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast (formerly Casino Magic).”
- Trop Casino Greenville | Caesars Entertainment, Inc. · Caesars Entertainment · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Trop Casino Greenville | Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (c) Caesars Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.”
- Tropicana Entertainment · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Harrah's Gulf Coast · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Vici Properties. Operator: Caesars Entertainment.”
- Horseshoe Tunica · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Vici Properties. Operating license holder: Caesars Entertainment.”
- MGM Resorts sells Gold Strike Tunica, CDI sells Arlington Heights property · Gambling Insider · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“MGM Resorts International has closed on the sale of the operations of Gold Strike Tunica to Cherokee Nation Businesses subsidiary CNE Gaming Holdings for $450m in cash.”
- Gold Strike Tunica · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Vici Properties. Operating license holder: Caesars Entertainment; leases the property back from Vici.”
- Churchill Downs buying Riverwalk for $141 million · Vicksburg Post · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Churchill Downs agreed to buy Riverwalk Casino Hotel Vicksburg for $141 million in 2012.”
- Churchill Downs Incorporated Completes Acquisition of Harlow's Casino Resort & Hotel · Churchill Downs Incorporated · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Churchill Downs bought Harlow's Casino Resort & Hotel in Greenville, Mississippi for about $138 million, closing December 2010.”
- Vicksburg's DiamondJacks becoming WaterView · Global Gaming Business · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“The former DiamondJacks property will become WaterView Casino and Hotel, new owners Foundation Gaming Group LLC recently announced.”
- The Majestic Star Casino, LLC · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Majestic Star sold Fitzgeralds Tunica to Foundation Gaming in August 2018. In November 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by Spectacle Entertainment, a new firm owned primarily by two Indiana-based investors.”
- Silver Slipper Casino (Waveland) · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owned and operated by Full House Resorts.”
- Golden Nugget Biloxi · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Sold to Fertitta Entertainment in 2012 and converted into a Golden Nugget.”
- Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort set for new ownership · WLOX · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Island View Casino · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Rick Carter and Terry Green. After Hurricane Katrina, Harrah's Entertainment chose not to rebuild Grand Casino Gulfport and sold the site to Copa owners Rick Carter and Terry Green.”
- Beau Rivage (Mississippi) · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Vici Properties. Operator: MGM Resorts International.”
- Palace Casino Resort coverage · Hotel Management · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- 1st Jackpot Casino Tunica · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Gaming and Leisure Properties. Operating license holder: Penn Entertainment.”
- Hollywood Casino Tunica · Wikipedia · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Owner: Gaming and Leisure Properties. Operating license holder: Penn Entertainment.”
- Mississippi casino owners sell Magnolia Bluffs hotel to out-of-state group · CDC Gaming · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Saratoga Casino Holdings, owners of the Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez, has sold the Magnolia Bluffs Hotel to a group of out-of-state owners; the casino itself stays with Saratoga.”
- Treasure Bay Gaming and Resorts, Inc. · World Casino Directory · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Treasure Bay Gaming and Resorts, Inc.. Casinos: Treasure Bay Casino & Hotel, 1980 Beach Boulevard.”
- Mississippi Gaming Commission Regular Monthly Meeting Agenda, August 15, 2024 · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
“"Receipt of Disciplinary Complaint; and Authorizing Executive Director to Execute Stipulation and Agreement Re: Jay McDaniel, Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission v. Underdog Sports, LLC"”
- Mississippi Gaming Commission Issues Cease and Desist Letters to Illegal Online Gaming Operators · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
“"Our laws are clear that casino style gaming and sports wagering are not allowed online in Mississippi, outside of a licensed casino... there are no legal exceptions for online sports books or so-called 'sweepstakes' casinos."”
- Mississippi Bans Sweepstakes And Offshore Casinos, Names 10 Illegal Operators · Bonus.com · secondary · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- NIGC FY 2025 Gross Gaming Revenue Report · National Indian Gaming Commission · regulator report · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
“FY 2025’s GGR of $46.2 billion marks the highest ever GGR for the Indian gaming industry.”
- Self Exclusion FAQ · Mississippi Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“The minimum amount of time you can exclude is 3 years... cannot choose a lifetime until you have completed at least 3 years.”