In March of this year, sports betting revenues in Mississippi were $3.4m ($2.8m/EUR3.2m), a drop from last year’s figures but a month-over-month increase.
The revenue was 32.0% lower than the $5.0m of March 2023. The monthly total in Mississippi was $2.3m, which is 47.8% more than the Mississippian’s February 2016 figure.
The revenue drop was a year on year decline despite a slight decrease in the handle. In March 2019, Mississippi bettors spent $44.5m on sports. This is down from the $46.7m they wagered in 2023.
The handle for February was $41.4m, which is 41.7% higher than the previous month.
Mississippi’s coastal casinos remain the top betting venues. In March, casinos along the coast generated $1.9 million in revenue from $30.2 million in wagers.
All wagers at coastal casinos were placed on basketball. This generated $343,648 revenue. Parlay cards generated the highest revenue, though, with bets totaling $4.0 million. This led to $728,221.
The central casinos generated $1.0m from sports bets totaling $8.9m. Basketball again attracted the highest number of bets, $4.5m. However, parlay cards at $4.0m generated the largest revenue, $584,612.
In the northern casinos, revenue in March was $468,058. Players spent $5.5m at these establishments. Basketball was the most popular sport, with $3.7m of bets and $249,668 generated in March.
Caesars Mobile Launches on Site
Caesars Entertainment’s mobile sports betting was launched earlier this month at Harrah’s Gulf Coast Hotel & Casino in Mississippi. Caesars Entertainment is only the second operator in North America to provide mobile betting on site. BetMGM started doing this at Beau Rivage a few years back.
Download the Caesars Sportsbook Mississippi App and start betting. App users can only wager while physically present in Harrah’s Gulf Coast.
Harrah’s Gulf Coast has had a retail Caesars Sportsbook at its casino since 2018.
Mississippi players are restricted to mobile betting only in casinos that have a partnership with online operators.
A new bill may change that and allow the market to open. The HB 774 bill would allow mobile betting anywhere in the state, and up to 26 licenses tied to Mississippi commercial casinos.
The bill was sent to the conference committee because lawmakers were unable to reach a consensus about what digital sports gambling should look like. Last week, members of the committee were announced. The end date of the session will be 5 May. This gives committee members a little over two weeks to reach an agreement.
On 1 February, the bill was passed by the House and sent to the Senate on 5 February.
