The Mississippi House of Representatives has actually officially shot down the Senate's variation of what was initially a mobile sports wagering bill, a relocation that was expected and that now permits Magnolia State lawmakers to search for commonalities on the legislation.
Mississippi's House on Monday declined to accept amendments the Senate made to House Bill 774, which initially proposed making online sports and race betting available throughout the state.
The House declining those changes was almost a certainty. Senators approved a variation of H.B. 774 which contains no mobile sports betting-related arrangements, although they did so to help the bill endure numerous legislative due dates and to continue conversations about whether Mississippi ought to license statewide mobile wagering.
"There is no new language," said Sen. David Blount, chairman of the chamber's gaming committee, recently. "I anticipate your house will welcome conference when we send this back over to them."
The expense formerly referred to as the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act has been returned by the state Senate to your house for concurrence. That probably will not occur since the Senate got rid of all of the mobile sports betting provisions from the costs before passing it this week. pic.twitter.com/Nwj3AVlcXY
Indeed, Monday's rejection came with little fanfare or commentary but it was coupled with an invitation to the Senate to conference on the legislation. A conference committee can now be established to discuss H.B. 774 and to hammer out compromise legislation that both houses might authorize before the Mississippi legislature adjourns on May 5.
The move keeps the hopes of legislating statewide online sports betting this year alive in Jackson, where lawmakers are split on the topic. Blount noted during a short committee meeting earlier this month that discussions were occurring behind the scenes in the legislature.
Mississippi has legal sports betting at nearly 30 brick-and-mortar gambling establishments in the state. Furthermore, at several, customers can utilize mobile apps that permit them to wager while on the residential or commercial property. However, there is no authorized avenue for online sports wagering in Mississippi when a patron leaves the property, as the state is among 20 without any legalized kinds of mobile betting.
H.B. 774 proposed to modify that status quo by permitting online sportsbook operators to partner with the state's brick-and-mortar casinos to offer mobile wagering. Before the Senate gutted the legislation, the bill likewise proposed a 12% for online wagering. Those provisions, or ones similar to them, would need to be reinserted into H.B.
