A bill that began as a straightforward plan to ban sweepstakes-style casinos in Mississippi has morphed into one of the session’s most tangled legislative battles — and now, it’s headed back to the drawing board.
On Thursday, the Mississippi Senate rejected the current version of SB 2510, refusing to accept amendments made by the House and instead inviting a conference committee. That decision leaves lawmakers with just a few days to strike a deal before the session ends on April 6.
At the center of the debate is online sports betting and whether it has any business being in this bill at all.
A Clean Ban Turns Complicated
When Sen. Joey Fillingane introduced SB 2510, the focus was laser-sharp: make digital sweepstakes casinos illegal and make it a felony to operate or promote them. Under the bill’s original language, violators could face up to 10 years in prison, fines as high as $100,000, and asset forfeiture. Supporters, including the Mississippi Gaming Commission and many licensed casinos, backed the measure as a necessary tool to stop the spread of unregulated gambling platforms across the state.
That clean version of the bill passed the Senate in February with a unanimous 51–0 vote.
But then things changed.
Things changed after the bill landed in the House Gaming Committee, chaired by Rep. Casey Eure. Eure, who is a longtime supporter of online sports betting, added language that would allow retail casinos to partner with up to two online sportsbooks or racebooks, effectively legalizing mobile betting statewide.
Eure had previously tried to pass a separate bill (HB 1302) to legalize mobile sports betting, but it stalled in the Senate Gaming Committee. So, he took a second shot, by adding sports betting language to SB 2510, a bill that was already moving. The amended version cleared the House with an 83–19–18 vote earlier this month and was sent back to the Senate, where lawmakers weren’t exactly thrilled with the rewrite.
On Thursday, they declined to accept the changes and instead sent the bill to a conference committee, where Senate and House members will try to work out a compromise before the session ends on April 6.
When Process Becomes the Problem
The disagreement isn’t just about what’s in the bill, it’s about how it got there.
Sen. David Blount, chair of the Senate Gaming Committee, has made it clear: he’s against combining unrelated issues in one bill. He previously said he’d only take up a sports betting proposal this year if it came directly from the Mississippi Gaming Commission, and this one didn’t
“To link bills together when the topics are not related to each other, to me, is not the way the legislature should work,” Blount said recently.
He’s not the only one pushing back. Several senators raised concerns about the last-minute expansion of SB 2510’s scope, especially without a formal request from regulators to revisit sports betting this session.
Eure, on the other hand, argued that combining the two issues was practical, not political. He’s estimated that legal mobile betting could generate $50 million in annual tax revenue. From his perspective, delaying action is just leaving money on the table.
Industry Divides
Mississippi’s retail casino industry is at the center of the debate — and it’s anything but unified.
Most licensed operators support the restrictions and crackdowns on sweepstakes casinos, and many supported Fillingane’s original bill from the start. These platforms, which imitate real casino play while working around state laws, have long been viewed as a threat. not just to revenue, but to the integrity of the regulated market.
But when it comes to online sports betting, not every casino is on board. Some brick-and-mortar operators worry that legalizing mobile wagering would pull customers away from their casino floors, and send that revenue straight to national sportsbook apps instead.
That internal tension is now baked into SB 2510. And with time running out, lawmakers are left with three options: pass a clean sweepstakes ban, fight to keep sports betting in play, or risk walking away with nothing at all.
What’s Next?
With the session set to end on April 6, SB 2510 now heads to the conference committee, where lawmakers from both chambers will attempt to find common ground.
They have a few options on the table:
- Strip the sports betting language and pass a clean sweepstakes ban: That would bring the bill back to basics: banning sweepstakes casinos without getting tangled up in the sports betting fight.
- Keep both and gamble on a compromise: Keeping both in play means legalizing mobile sports betting and restricting sweepstakes, but it’ll take some give-and-take from both chambers to get it done.
- Or, if no agreement is reached, let the bill die, leaving both issues unresolved for another year: In that case, the state keeps its hands off the wheel while offshore sweepstakes operators and illegal sportsbooks continue business as usual.
For now, sweepstakes casinos in Mississippi remain legal by omission, and mobile sports betting stays off the books. But both are still happening, and lawmakers know it.
Whether they decide to regulate, expand, or punt the issue entirely, the clock is ticking.