Magnolia State gaming enthusiasts had their hopes dashed recently with a pair of gaming bills failing to meet legislative deadlines. Per a recent report, Mississippi’s efforts to legalize mobile sports betting while banning sweepstakes casinos have once again failed. This is after lawmakers did not advance the bills before a key legislative deadline, repeating a scenario that unfolded during the 2025 season. House Bill 1581, which would have legalized mobile sports betting, and Senate Bill 2104, which sought to ban sweepstakes casinos, both failed to advance before the Legislature’s March 3rd committee deadline. This deadline was for bills originating in the opposite chamber. Additionally, because neither bill was reported out of committee before the deadline, both measures automatically died for the 2026 legislative session.
For this article, SBS will be going over the latest gaming news coming from Mississippi, along with all kinds of exclusive information you can only find over at SBS.
Noted in the same article, Mississippi currently allows sports betting only inside licensed casinos. HB 1581 represented the latest attempt by the Mississippi House to expand sports betting statewide. Moreover, the chamber passed the measure on February 4th with an 85-31 vote, marking the third consecutive year it has advanced mobile sports betting legislation. However, as in previous sessions, the legislation was referred to a Senate committee but did not advance before the deadline.
In related news, the House advanced another mobile sports betting measure, HB 4074, earlier this year. Rep. Casey Eure is the sponsor for both measures. As HB 1581 had stalled, Eure introduced HB 4074 with new provisions, intended to address Senate concerns. That included an increase in the tax on mobile sportsbooks, a reduction in the tax on physical casinos, and fewer licenses. While the legislative history does not yet reflect this, as the measure did not receive a committee vote before the deadline, it appears to be dead for the 2026 session as well.
Meanwhile, the article notes, the Senate passed SB 2104, which aims to prohibit online sweepstakes casinos. The Senate passed a similar measure in 2025, but it stalled in the House. SB 2104 passed the Senate on February 4th before moving to the House Gaming Committee. However, it similarly failed to advance before the March 3rd deadline, resulting in the measure dying in committee. The bills’ failure mirrors what occurred in Mississippi’s legislative session. For instance, the House pushed for legalizing mobile sports betting, while Senate leadership remained resistant to expanding wagering beyond casino properties. After the Senate rejected the House’s sports betting proposal, Rep. Eure amended the sweepstakes casino bill to include provisions from the failed bill. However, the Senate rejected it, effectively killing both proposals.
A similar dynamic, the report suggests, appears to have played out again in 2026. On the House’s side, Rep. Eure, the House Gaming Committee Chair, championed sports betting. Meanwhile, on the Senate side, Sen. David Blount, the Senate Gaming Committee Chair, co-sponsored the sweeps ban bill. Notably, Blount has been one of the most vocal critics of mobile sports betting, arguing it would cannibalize the retail casino industry, which he sees as vital to the state. In this year’s efforts, Eure positioned the sports betting bill as a potential funding source for the state’s underfunded Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), which has unfunded liabilities of about $26 billion. Blount, however, questioned whether mobile sports betting could meaningfully affect the pension system’s finances.
The repeated stalemate leaves Mississippi’s gambling framework unchanged. However, the passage of both mobile sports betting and the prohibition of sweepstakes casinos by one chamber in multiple sessions shows that lawmakers are interested in advancing the proposals. Still, the disagreement between the House and Senate suggests lawmakers will likely need to resolve the divide between the chambers before either proposal can advance in future legislative sessions.
So, tying things together, Mississippi lawmakers once again failed to advance legislation to expand sports betting statewide or to prohibit sweepstakes casinos. The Mississippi House has now passed mobile sports betting in three consecutive sessions, but the Senate has blocked it, fearing cannibalization impacts. Meanwhile, the Senate passed a ban on sweepstakes casinos in two consecutive sessions, only for the House to block it. Per sources, the latest developments show the divide between the chambers. It is unclear what kind of brokerage deal could be struck if this kind of agreement bill structure were to continue and what kind of concessions would need to be made.
After you are all up to speed in relation to the newest gambling updates coming from Mississippi, make sure to check out the excellent array of info for you over at SBS. For additional analysis on the state covered in this report, the sports betting in Mississippi guide is a great tool to learn more about the state of gaming in the region and what it means for you. Moreover, for qualified and eligible customers, the BetOnline sportsbook review rundown is a great resource as well, which goes over the latest bonuses and contests at BetOnline. Here you can learn more about the sportsbook and see if any of the options make sense for you if you qualify. Finally, for those on the go and who qualify, the best betting apps breakdown is a must-read page that goes over the eligible perks of mobile betting.
About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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