The state of Mississippi has long been home to one of the most highly developed and successful hubs for gambling in the United States. You may also recall that sports betting was not offered at any of the casinos around the state for decades due to a federal ban. Fortunately, that has all changed and Mississippi sportsbooks have opened all over the state.

Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), declaring the unpopular and overreaching federal ban on sports betting in all but four states to be unconstitutional, state-sanctioned legal Mississippi sportsbooks are now a reality. With all the infrastructure already in place, residents and tourists can easily find their favorite local Mississippi sportsbooks.

Gambling is available in water and land-based casinos, and there is talk of mobile betting coming to Mississippi in 2021. Representative Cedric Burnett filed House Bill 172 which would legalize online sports betting, allowing casinos to launch online. Online gambling laws in Mississippi. The Gaming Control Act formed the Mississippi Gaming Commission in 1972 in order to oversee illegal gambling activities in the state. Mississippi is one of the six states, along with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri, where riverboat gambling.

While Mississippians are widely regarded to be among the nation’s savviest bettors, not everyone involved in the hobby knows the whole truth about the already wide availability of sports betting opportunities in their state. For nearly a quarter of a century since the passage of PASPA in the early ‘90s, legal sportsbook websites based overseas have been providing Mississippi sports bettors with an online alternative to Las Vegas and shady local bookies alike. These 100-percent legal sports betting businesses, which are simultaneously licensed and regulated by the gaming authorities in their home nations in Europe and the Caribbean, have all the action on Mississippi’s favorite sports, teams, athletes and events, while also operating outside the prohibitions that were up until recently imposed by federal and state laws.

Today, online sports betting in Mississippi is more popular than ever. There are a number of reasons why so many people are choosing to make their wagers through sports betting sites in Mississippi instead of inside a casino. We’ve asked a number of internet betting. Betting online in the state of Mississippi is way more convenient than gambling in person. There’s no fighting traffic, looking for parking, dealing with drunks, waiting for a seat, or even putting on pants.

Our comprehensive guide to legal Mississippi sportsbooks – both of the state-sanctioned domestic variety based here at home in the Magnolia State and those doing business from home bases overseas – aims to provide veteran bettors and newcomers to the hobby with all the information you need to get started. We will take a closer look at what the decision to repeal PASPA means for the future of legalized and regulated sports betting in MS, what the state laws say about wagering on sports, what gaming outlets are primed to offer sports betting, what teams to bet on and more.

As of November 2018, there are more than 20 Mississippi casinos with sportsbooks, and Magnolia State fans are lining up around the block in Biloxi, Gulfport, and Tunica Resorts to get in on the action. The Beau Rivage, regarded as the pride of the Gulf Coast, and the Gold Strike Casino Resort up on the Tennessee border in Tunica, both began accepting sports wagers on August 1st, 2018. Since then, numerous commercial and tribal casinos have opened their doors to provide patrons with a full-scale sports betting experience. You will be able to find sportsbooks in Vicksburg, Robinsonville, Bay St. Louis, and Greenville as well. We recommend that all our readers drop what they are doing and hit the road to see what all the fuss is about. Of course, if traveling is not currently in the cards there are always plenty of online Mississippi sportsbooks to choose from.

One of the biggest topics of discussion in sports betting circles these days is how the recent Supreme Court ruling on PASPA impacts sports betting in Mississippi. The ramifications of the May 14, 2018, 6-3 majority decision by the SCOTUS justices are momentous: by overturning the longstanding federal prohibition on state-regulated sports betting, all 50 states are now free to chart their own courses when it comes to offering sports wagering or not.

Mississippi lawmakers anticipated this shift in the federal stance on sports betting and in early 2017 quietly repealed the portion of the Missing Gaming Control Act relating to Daily Fantasy Sports contests (DFS) that had previously prohibited placing wagers on sports. By opening up the possibility for the state to legalize and regulate sports betting should the federal ban be lifted, overturned or repealed, Mississippi was basically good to go as soon as PASPA was struck down by the highest court in the land.

Unlike a few of the other nearly two dozen states that either already passed or are on the cusp of passing laws to legalize sport betting, Mississippi’s revised law on the subject only allows the state’s 28 casinos to obtain licenses to operate sportsbooks. While on the surface this might seem like a bad move, considering the internet-facing direction the entire sports betting industry seems pivoting toward, it was, in actuality, a fairly elegant solution to a problem facing other states.

It should be pointed out that nothing in the law prevents state legislators from pursuing different avenues and platforms for legal Mississippi sportsbooks in the future. However, by focusing strictly on allowing established casinos to offer sports betting products at the onset of the newly minted industry, the Magnolia State avoided potential infighting between casinos, lottery operators and other interested parties. Time will tell the direction that Mississippi will eventually take when it comes to offering a full menu of digital sports betting products and platforms, but in heady days like we are seeing in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling on PASPA, it is hard not to be optimistic about the future.

Being that the future for Mississippi sportsbooks is looking brighter than ever, by now the savviest sports betting enthusiasts are beginning to wonder one question: “What does the new state law look like?” There are a few particulars of the new state law that are worth going over for the benefit of sports bettors looking to have a stronger grasp on the legality of Mississippi sports betting.

For now, all sports betting taking place in Mississippi will have to go on at one of the state’s casinos, as the new state law does not allow for mobile betting outside a licensed casino sportsbook or for online sports betting period. The law similarly does not authorize bars and restaurants to have electronic sports betting terminals. Casinos interested in obtaining licensure have to apply to the Mississippi Gaming Commission – which will be responsible for all sports betting-related licensure for casinos and third party vendors operating sportsbooks – and then get approval to host bookmaking spaces inside their facilities.

The goal of this detail of the law was to ensure that only existing gaming license holders can offer sports betting from the outset, and that means land- and water-based operations only, at least for the time being.

As for the types of wagers that will be accepted, all forms of professional and collegiate sports are fair game when it comes to the action that will be on offer at Mississippi sportsbooks.

On the subject of what taxes will be assessed by the state on its new sports betting operations, Mississippi’s gaming authority eventually settled on the proposal included in regulatory bill, HB 1154 (sponsored by Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven), which means sportsbooks operating in the Magnolia State will be liable for a 12 percent tax on handle. That means the casinos that house the Mississippi sportsbooks will pay the equivalent to that amount in state and local taxes on the total wagers - minus payouts – that they bring in.

For a more detailed explanation, head over to our on the Mississippi sports betting law.

While there are plenty of restrictions on mobile sports betting baked into the Hospitality State’s current laws dealing with sports gambling, there is actually no need to worry if you are dead set on using your smartphone to wager on your favorite team. That’s because it is not illegal to bet at on offshore sportsbook on your mobile device, and – wouldn’t you know it – the industry’s leading overseas operators like Bovada, BetOnline, SportsBetting, BetDSI and 5Dimes all have free mobile betting apps for Apple and Android devices. Because these sites are based in foreign countries (where the laws governing Mississippi sportsbooks do not apply in the first place), and because state laws don’t prohibit actually placing bets online generally, you can use offshore sportsbook websites for your mobile betting needs with no need to worry about running afoul of the law.

One of the major elements to Mississippi’s new sports betting legislation is the provision for mobile sports betting, though at this time it looks like placing bets on sporting events using a smartphone will be severely restricted. There are several reasons for this, one of which we have already discussed at some length above (to sum things up, Mississippi’s lawmakers evidently decided in part that it was an easier sell to focus their sports betting legalization legislation on casino operators only). The current Mississippi sports betting regulatory measures even go as far as to not include garages and parking lots in what constitutes the “property boundaries” of the casino hotel facility – presumably for fear that someone might hack the system and camp out in a parking area or something.

In many ways it could be said, the main reason the outlook for mobile sports betting in Mississippi is not the best right now is because legislators are evidently interested in limiting the exposure of sports wagering to minors. State Rep. Richard Bennet (R-Long Beach), who actually wrote the legislation that legalized Mississippi sportsbooks in anticipation of a PASPA repeal, has explicitly said that his goal in crafting the aforementioned law was to make sure sports bettors had to be inside a casino to place wagers on spots. That means, for now anyway, that you will need to be 21 to get in on the action, and if you want to bet using a smartphone you will have to do it inside the actual casino building in which the sportsbook is located.

Beginners Guide To Sports Betting

We’ve already talked quite a bit about the particulars of how Mississippi sportsbooks are finally going to become a legal reality after so long, and that is a conversation with far-reaching relevance for veteran bettors and newcomers alike since both groups will be equally affected by the new laws regulating the hobby. However, we shouldn’t neglect going over a beginner’s guide to sports betting in all the excitement, but we can’t properly do that in this limited space. Suffice it to say that without a solid understanding of the fundamental principles that goes into researching matchups and navigating the sports betting world that actually having the legal ability to make bets on your favorite teams and athletes would not be nearly as beneficial to you, the bettor.

For more information on this topic, we would like to direct our readers over to our pages detailing how to read odds, the different wager types available and how to handle sportsbook deposits and sportsbook withdrawals. We also discuss the art of handicapping sports, the pros and cons of taking a deposit bonus and new web-only innovations like live betting.

Shopping Lines

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as sports betting enthusiast is limiting yourself to just one sportsbook. If, for instance, you should find yourself on the Biloxi strip with sportsbooks at every casino around you, why in the world would you intentionally only visit one of them? You could easily be missing out on better odds offered at another, competing betting shop right across the street or just down the road. The same concept of shopping lines – or line-shopping if you like hyphens as much as we do – applies equally to internet sportsbooks as much as it does to land-based casino ‘books.

We have a whole page dedicated to this topic, in which we will get into related concepts like looking for the best odds possible, advanced strategies like hedging your bets and maintaining multiple sportsbook accounts at legal Mississippi sportsbooks. Head on over there for more information.

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Sports betting in Mississippi was legalized in 2018. Since then, the state has launched legal sportsbooks that anyone inside the state can bet with.

However, Mississippi’s sports betting laws are a tad complex. To make sure you don’t run into any trouble, I’ve put together an article that explains Mississippi sports betting laws. I’ll also be taking a look at the best sportsbooks in Mississippi, and I’ll be answering your most popular questions on this subject.

Top 5 Sportsbooks In Mississippi

How Online Sports Betting Works In Mississippi

Mississippi Sports Betting Launch

Mississippi was one of the first states to launch online sports betting back in the summer of 2018. Daily fantasy sports betting came first, in 2017, and sports betting followed 12 months later.

Several casinos soon added sportsbooks to their on-site premises. However, while it’s legal to bet online in Mississippi, there is a catch – you must be inside a licensed sportsbook or casino.

For example, you could visit Golden Nugget’s land-based sportsbook and place a bet via the mobile app.

How To Bet On Sports?

If you’ve never placed a sports wager before, the good news is that it is straightforward.

First, you need to sign up for a sportsbook. I’ve listed the top 5 in Mississippi at the start of this article. Then, make your first deposit and grab the welcome bonus.

Now for the exciting bit: Take a look at the sporting events that are on offer. Once you’ve found an event that you like the look of, take a closer look at its lines and then the odds.

Once you’ve decided on a bet and the odds are appealing to you, you need to choose a stake (the amount of money you want to wager). The final step is to confirm your bet. Then, just sit back and wait for the outcome of the match.

Which Mississippi Casinos Have Sportsbooks?

Several Mississippi casinos have added a sportsbook to their on-site premises since the legalization of sports betting.

• 1st Jackpot Casino
• Ameristar Casino
• Beau Rivage Resort and Casino
• Bok Homa Casino
• Boomtown Casino
• Fitz Casino Hotel
• Gold Strike Casino Resort
• Golden Moon Hotel and Casino
• Golden Nugget
• Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Mississippi Online Sports Betting Partnerships

As per the Mississippi gaming commission, a sportsbook isn’t legal unless it’s part of online sports betting partnership with a fully licensed casino.

• Beau Rivage Sportsbook – PlayMGM
• Grand Sierra – William Hill
• Gold Strike – PlayMGM
• Sam’s Town – PlayMGM
• IP Casino – B Connected
• Boomtown Casino – Penn National
• Golden Moon – PRR Sports
• Golden Nugget – Golden Nugget
• Hollywood Casino – Penn National
• Scarlet Pearl – DraftKings Sportsbook
• Silver Star – PRR Sports

What Can You Bet On Right Now In Mississippi?

You can bet on all sports in Mississippi, but the exact sports you’re able to bet on will depend on the sportsbook you sign up with. This is because different sportsbooks offer different sports variety.

Here’s a list of the legal sports you can be on right now in Mississippi:

• NFL
• NHL
• MLB
• NBA
• Soccer
• Rugby
• Cricket
• Gold
• Tennis
• Hockey
• Handball
• Volleyball
• Table Tennis
• Boxing
• UFC
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Greyhounds

What Bets Are Available At Mississippi Sportsbooks?

Once you sign up for a sportsbook, you’ll then need to decide what type of bet you want to place. If you’re new to sports betting, here are the top bets available at Mississippi sportsbooks:

Online Sports Betting Mississippi

• Straight-line bets – The sportsbook sets a betting line (otherwise known as the point spread), and it’s up to you to bet on either the favorite or the underdog. If you bet on the favorite, you’ll only win the bet if it wins by more than the point spread. If you bet on the underdog, it must win outright or at least lose less than the spread.
• Money line bets – This one is very similar to the straight line bet, except there is no point spread. Instead, you just bet on either the favorite or the underdog. A money line bet for the favorite looks like this:

LA Lakers (+120)

In this example, if you wager $100, you will win $20 if the bet comes through.

A money line bet for an underdog looks like this:

LA Clippers (-115)

In this example, if you wager $100, you will win $15 if the bet comes through.

In money line bets, the favorite is always represented by a (+) sign, and a (-) sign always represents the underdog.

• Total line bets – The sportsbook sets a combined final score between both teams, and you need to decide whether you think the real combined final score will be higher or lower. For example, if the sportsbook might decide that the Lakers and Clippers will achieve a combined score of 195. Total line bets are really popular in the NBA and NFL.
• Parlay bets – You group together 2 or more bets. For example, you might pick the Lakers, the Bucks and the Bulls all to win. If just one of them loses, you lose the whole bet. The beauty of the parlay bet is that the odds are adjusted each time you add a new pick. The more picks you add, the more money you stand to win.

Taking Advantage Of Bonuses and Rewards

The best Mississippi sportsbooks come with bonuses and rewards that you should look out for before signing up. Here are some of the best bonuses and rewards you might find:

• Welcome bonus – All sportsbooks offer a welcome bonus to kickstart your sports betting career. Most sites offer a first deposit bonus, which means you need to make a first deposit before grabbing the bonus. However, some sites offer a no deposit welcome bonus, which you can grab without making a deposit first.
• Reload bonus – Once the first deposit bonus is out of the way, some sites will top your account with more free cash when you make a second and even a third deposit. This is an extremely lucrative bonus, although it is never as much as the first deposit bonus.
• Free bets – Every now and then, a sportsbook will offer a free bet. This is an entirely risk-free bet that’s usually small (typically it’s a $1) and can only be used on specific sports.
• Bonus on losses – Sometimes, a sportsbook will run a promotion, which gives you the chance to recoup a percentage of your losses. Usually, this bonus is only available on specific sports/sporting events.
• VIP schemes – Before you sign up to a sportsbook, check to see what its VIP scheme is like. A VIP scheme is a loyalty program that rewards your repeat play with perks, such as free bets.

Mississippi Sports Betting Laws

• You must be aged 21 or over to place a bet
• You must be inside fully-licensed premises in Mississippi to place a bet

Mississippi Sports Betting FAQ: Your Questions Answered

Is Sports Betting Legal In Mississippi?

Sports betting has been legal in Mississippi since August 2018.

When Can Mississippi Residents Start Placing Bets?

Mississippi residents can start placing bets anytime they want.

How Old Do You Have To Be To Legally Bet In Mississippi?

Is It Legal To Bet On Mississippi Sports Teams?

Yes. There are no restrictions on who you bet on (or what you bet on). As long as the sportsbook offers it, you can bet on it.

Do I Have To Live In Mississippi To Bet Online?

No. You can be passing through Mississippi, but if you bet at a Mississippi sportsbook, you need to be located within the state at the time.

List Of Sportsbooks In Mississippi

Is Mobile Sports Betting Available In Mississippi?

Although online sports betting is available in Mississippi, mobile sports betting isn’t yet available.

Final Thoughts On Sports Betting In Mississippi

Although mobile betting will have to wait, sports betting – both offline and online – is legal in Mississippi. While my personal preference is DraftKings, the choice is now yours in regards to which sportsbook you sign up to.

Can You Bet Online In Mississippi

Whichever site you choose, don’t forget to snap up the welcome bonus and use the tips in the ‘how to bet on sports’ section in this article. Then, place your bets and see what happens. Good luck!