Mississippi

Last verified September 25, 2026

By the Legal Sportsbooks US editorial team

Mississippi

Retail only

Legal since

August 1, 2018 (retail)

Minimum age

21 (18 for daily fantasy)

Regulator

Mississippi Gaming Commission

Licensed apps

None (casino apps work on property only)

State law

Miss. Code 75-76-5 and 75-76-33 (as amended by 2017 HB 967)

Is sports betting legal in Mississippi?

Yes, but only inside a licensed casino. State-licensed casino sportsbooks have taken bets since August 1, 2018, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians runs sports wagering at its own casinos. You have to be 21. Online betting from anywhere else in the state is illegal, and none of the statewide mobile bills filed since 2019 has become law.

Where you can bet

The Gaming Commission reports sports wagering by three regions: Coastal, Central and Northern. In August 2026 the state-licensed casino books wrote $14,072,493.68 in bets and kept $2,102,515.41 in taxable revenue. The Coastal region took $8,822,789.85 of that handle, Central $3,076,183.20 and Northern $2,173,520.63.

Casinos can offer betting apps, but they only work on the casino's property, hotel rooms and restaurants included. The Commission's FAQ says sports wagering not conducted in a casino is illegal, and that includes online and mobile apps. Choctaw casinos aren't regulated by the state. The Commission's FAQ lists "gaming and sports wagering at a casino operated by the MS Band of Choctaw Indians" as legal.

College betting is allowed, Ole Miss and Mississippi State included. The Commission's approved catalog (dated June 11, 2026) covers NCAA Division I events but bars proposition bets on individual college players. It does allow a few NCAA awards, such as the Heisman Trophy and the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The catalog doesn't list any high school events.

Casino gaming revenue, sports betting included, is taxed at 12%: 8% goes to the state and 4% to local governments.

How Mississippi legalized sports betting

The Gaming Control Act (1990 to 2016)

The Legislature legalized dockside casino gambling in House Bill 2 of its 1990 special session. The bill, the Mississippi Gaming Control Act, took effect on its adoption on June 29, 1990, and created the Mississippi Gaming Commission. The first casino bet was made at the Isle of Capri in Biloxi on August 1, 1992. The State Tax Commission regulated gaming until the Gaming Commission took over on October 1, 1993.

As written, the Act didn't allow sports betting at those casinos. Section 75-76-33(3)(a) said "No wagering shall be allowed on the outcome of any athletic event, nor on any matter to be determined during an athletic event, nor on the outcome of any event, which does not take place on the premises." The federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 would have blocked a state sports betting law anyway.

The fantasy law that lifted the ban (2016 to 2017)

Senate Bill 2541, the first Fantasy Contest Act, was approved by Gov. Phil Bryant on May 12, 2016. It legalized paid daily fantasy contests under a registration system that was set to sunset. A task force spent the summer of 2016 drafting a replacement.

That replacement was House Bill 967. It fell short in the House 64-54 on February 8, 2017, then passed 92-22 the next day after a motion to reconsider, passed the Senate 46-6 on March 1 and was approved by the governor on March 13, 2017. It took effect July 1, 2017. HB 967 moved fantasy operators to a Gaming Commission license and set the player age at 18. It also struck the athletic-event ban from Section 75-76-33 and the words "except for athletic events" from the definition of "sports pool" in Section 75-76-5.

The words "sports betting" didn't appear in the bill. Mississippi Today reported in July 2017 that sponsors, including Rep. Scott DeLano and Sen. Sean Tindell, said legalizing sports betting was never the intent. Gaming Commission executive director Allen Godfrey said the change opened the door to offering it. The same bill kept the rule that no wager may be placed by anyone not present on a licensed vessel, and that provision still keeps betting on casino property.

Launch after Murphy (2018)

Mississippi was one of five states that backed New Jersey's request for Supreme Court review of PASPA. On May 14, 2018 the Court struck the law down in Murphy v. NCAA. The Commission's sports wagering regulations took effect July 21, 2018. At noon on August 1, 2018, MGM's Beau Rivage in Biloxi and Gold Strike in Tunica took the first legal sports bets, 26 years to the day after the first casino bet. IP Casino Resort in Biloxi and Sam's Town followed two days later.

Statewide mobile bills (2019 to 2026)

Mobile bills that died in committee include ones from 2019 (HB 1481), 2020 (HB 172, HB 941, HB 959, SB 2613 and SB 2614), 2021 (HB 1042 and SB 2732) and 2022 (HB 184, HB 1165 and SB 2462).

In 2023 Rep. Casey Eure's HB 606 created a Mobile-Online Sports Betting Task Force instead of legalizing apps. It passed the House 109-5 and the Senate 49-1, and was signed on March 28, 2023. The next year his HB 774, the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, passed the House 99-14 on February 1, 2024. The Senate passed an amended version 36-15 on April 9, the House refused to concur, and the bill died in conference on April 29.

HB 1302 passed the House 89-11 on February 3, 2025 and died in the Senate Gaming Committee on March 4. In 2026 the House passed HB 1581 by 85-31 on February 4, and it died in Senate committee on March 3. Eure's rewrite, HB 4074, raised the tax on mobile books, cut the tax on physical casinos and reduced the number of licenses. It passed the House 100-11 on February 25 and died in Senate committee on March 17, 2026. Senate Gaming Committee chairman David Blount has argued that mobile betting would cut into casino business.

Sweepstakes bills

The Senate has twice passed bans on online sweepstakes casinos. SB 2510 passed 51-0 in February 2025. The House amended it 83-19 on March 11, and Gambling Insider reported the amendment added the failed mobile betting provisions. The Senate refused to concur, and it died in conference on March 31, 2025. SB 2104 passed the Senate 52-0 on February 4, 2026. It would have made running an online sweepstakes casino a felony and allowed asset forfeiture. It died in the House Gaming Committee on March 3, 2026.

Sports betting court cases in Mississippi

We found no lawsuit in Mississippi's state or federal courts challenging the 2017 law, the Commission's sports wagering rules or a sportsbook license, and no case over daily fantasy.

Murphy v. NCAA (U.S. Supreme Court, No. 16-476, 2018)

Mississippi wasn't a party, but it supported New Jersey's petition for review. On May 14, 2018 the Court held that PASPA's ban on states authorizing sports betting violated the anticommandeering doctrine. The ruling let the 2017 changes to the Gaming Control Act take effect in practice.

In re MasterCard International Inc. (Fifth Circuit, No. 01-30389, 2002)

The Fifth Circuit covers Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. On November 20, 2002, in a consolidated Internet gambling case from the Eastern District of Louisiana, it affirmed that the federal Wire Act applies to betting on sporting events or contests and doesn't reach other online casino gambling (313 F.3d 257). It remains the Fifth Circuit's reading of the Wire Act.

Mississippi and the prediction market appeals

Mississippi hasn't sued a prediction market or been sued by one. Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined the brief of New Jersey, Ohio, 37 other states and the District of Columbia supporting Nevada in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad (Ninth Circuit, No. 25-7516). The panel ruled on August 28, 2026 that Kalshi's sports event contracts are likely not "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act, so Nevada's gaming law likely isn't preempted. That ruling split with the Third Circuit, which held for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026 (KalshiEX, LLC v. Flaherty, No. 25-1922).

New Jersey's petition in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, LLC was filed September 2 and docketed September 8, 2026 as No. 26-299. On September 22 the Clerk extended Kalshi's response deadline to November 9, 2026.

The Fifth Circuit on sports event contracts

We found no Fifth Circuit ruling or appeal on whether federal commodities law preempts state gambling law for sports event contracts, as of September 25, 2026. Neither the Third nor the Ninth Circuit decision binds courts in Mississippi.

Prediction markets and daily fantasy

Sports event contracts from CFTC-regulated prediction markets remain available in Mississippi. CBS Sports' September 24, 2026 state survey lists Kalshi and Polymarket as live there. We found no cease-and-desist letter from the Gaming Commission or the Attorney General to any operator. The Commission's FAQ calls online sports wagering illegal without naming event contracts.

In May 2026 Fitch joined 40 other attorneys general in a letter to the CFTC arguing that sports event contracts should be regulated by states. "The CFTC should not upend that balance," she said. Novig (Ludlow Exchange, LLC), a CFTC-designated contract market since June 16, 2026, is open to users 21 and older in Mississippi (its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan) and builds no vig into its prices.

Daily fantasy is legal for players 18 and over through operators licensed by the Gaming Commission under the Fantasy Contest Act, Sections 97-33-301 and following.

Help with a gambling problem

Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling: call 1-888-777-9696 or text msgambler to 53342.

Sources

Common questions

How we track and verify state laws

What does Legal Sportsbooks US track?

Every state's legal status, the date betting became legal, the minimum age, the regulator and the licensed apps, plus the legal history and court cases behind them, for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Our page on how we track and verify state laws explains the details.

What do the statuses mean?

Online and retail means licensed mobile apps and in-person sportsbooks both operate. Online only means betting happens through licensed apps, with no retail sportsbooks. Retail only means you can bet in person at licensed venues, but there's no statewide app. Not legal means no licensed sportsbooks operate. Legislation pending means a bill or ballot measure is moving, but betting hasn't launched. Not yet verified means we haven't confirmed the state's current status.

Can I bet on sports where I live?

The rules follow where you are when you place the bet. Licensed apps use geolocation to confirm you're inside a state where they can operate, and some states limit betting to certain premises. Find your state in the state index, or read our guide to location rules.

How old do you have to be to bet on sports?

It's 21 in 33 of the 40 jurisdictions with legal sports betting and 18 in five: Washington, D.C., Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Wyoming. In North Dakota and Washington, the tribal casino sets the age.

How current is the tracker?

State laws and licenses change, so every state entry records the date it was last verified. If a status looks out of date, the state regulator's website has the official answer.

Is this legal advice?

No. We summarize public information about state sports betting laws. Confirm the rules with your state regulator before you bet, and don't wager more than you can afford to lose.