Mississippi Sports Betting: Legal Sportsbooks, Laws, Apps & Where to Bet

• ✓ Legal, retail Sports betting has been legal in person at licensed casinos since Aug. 1, 2018.
• 📱 On-property only A few casinos offer a mobile app, but it accepts wagers only while you are inside the casino or on its grounds.
• ✗ No statewide online There is no legal at-home betting and no real-money online casino in Mississippi.
• ⚠ 21 and on site You must be 21 or older and physically at a licensed casino; residency is not required.
• 🏈 College allowed College betting is allowed, including in-state teams; high school betting is not.

Yes. Sports betting has been legal in Mississippi since Aug. 1, 2018. You can bet in person at a sportsbook window or self-service kiosk at any of the licensed casinos that offer wagering. A few of those casinos also let you bet through a mobile app, but the app only works when you are inside the casino or on its grounds, confirmed by geolocation. Bettors do not need to be Mississippi residents, but they must be 21 or older and physically present at a licensed casino. For a full state-by-state breakdown, see our guide to states with legal sports betting.

Can You Bet Online in Mississippi?

Only on casino property. Mississippi law permits mobile wagering only to the extent that a guest places the bet from a device while located inside an approved casino facility. You can download a sportsbook app and create an account from anywhere in the state, and you can deposit and withdraw from anywhere, but the app will not accept a wager unless you are on casino grounds. As a result, the national operators that dominate other states have only a small footprint in Mississippi, and most of the big advertised welcome bonuses are not available here.

What Is Not Legal

Statewide online sports betting, the kind that lets you bet from your couch, is not legal. Real-money online casino games, such as slots and table games played over the internet, are not legal. Betting on high school sports is not allowed, and licensed sportsbooks do not offer wagering on elections or other political outcomes.

Mississippi Sports Betting Quick Facts

Every legal sportsbook in Mississippi is tied to a licensed casino and regulated by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, except for the tribal casinos, which operate under the authority of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Some casinos run their books under a national brand such as BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel or DraftKings, while others run an independent, or house, sportsbook. The key thing to understand is what counts as online here: only three operators offer a mobile app, and each app accepts wagers only while you are on casino property. Short, Mississippi-focused reviews of the regulated operators follow.

In a full mobile state, online betting means wagering from anywhere within state lines. In Mississippi it means something narrower. You can download a licensed casino’s app, register an account, verify your identity and deposit or withdraw money from anywhere in the state, but the app uses geolocation and will not let you place a wager unless you are physically inside the casino or on its grounds. There is no Mississippi-licensed sportsbook that lets you bet from home. The three operators that offer this on-property mobile experience are BetMGM, Caesars and the tribal Pearl River Sports app.

Pearl River Sports (Tribal)

Pearl River Sports is the app of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, used at the tribe’s Pearl River Resort casinos. Bettors can place wagers through the app while on the grounds of Silver Star Hotel and Casino or Golden Moon Hotel and Casino in Philadelphia, or Bok Homa Casino in Sandersville. These tribal properties are not regulated by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, and the app, like the others in the state, works on property only.

All Legal Mobile (On-Property) Sportsbook Apps in Mississippi

Only a few Mississippi casinos offer a betting app, and in every case you must be on casino property to place a wager. You can register, deposit and withdraw from anywhere in the state, but the bet itself must be placed on site. There is no legal app that lets you bet from home. The table below lists the legal on-property apps and where they work.

Offshore sportsbooks are betting sites based outside the United States that accept American customers, including players in Mississippi. They are popular in the state because they offer true online and mobile betting from anywhere, which Mississippi’s regulated casinos cannot legally provide off property. Most run a sportsbook, an online casino and sometimes a poker room and a racebook under one account, and they lean heavily on cryptocurrency for deposits and withdrawals. Before considering one, it is important to understand exactly what they are and are not. Many bettors reach them as mobile sports betting sites rather than app-store downloads.

Some offshore-affiliated sites describe themselves as legal in Mississippi because no state law specifically prosecutes a recreational bettor for placing a wager. That framing is misleading. The operators themselves are unauthorized, the activity sits in a legal gray-to-black market, and Mississippi lawmakers have moved to tighten the rules. A 2026 Senate bill sought to reclassify unregulated online gambling violations as felonies, with fines of up to $100,000 per violation and prison terms of up to 10 years for operators and facilitators of illegal platforms. The accurate way to describe these sites is not legal and not regulated.

The Risks of Using Offshore Sportsbooks

Because these books answer to no Mississippi or U.S. regulator, the consumer protections that come with a licensed casino simply do not exist. The trade-offs are real, and they fall on the bettor.

• No oversight and no recourse. If a site voids your bet, limits your account, withholds a payout or shuts down, there is no Mississippi regulator to complain to and no guaranteed way to recover your money. Your only leverage is the operator’s reputation. By contrast, the Gaming Commission’s Enforcement Division formally handles patron disputes at licensed casinos.
• Your money is not protected. Offshore funds are not held under U.S. rules that require player balances to be safeguarded. Sites can change terms, freeze balances or exit the market, and a few offshore brands have failed or stopped paying over the years.
• Banking friction. U.S. banks often decline these transactions, so deposits and payouts run through cryptocurrency or peer-to-peer services. Withdrawals can be slow, capped, delayed or rejected, and some methods carry fees.
• Identity and data exposure. To verify an account you hand personal and financial information to an unregulated foreign company that is not bound by U.S. consumer-data protections.
• No enforced responsible gambling tools. State-backed self-exclusion, mandated deposit limits and independently audited odds and fairness are not guaranteed.
• Tax reporting falls entirely on you. Offshore books do not issue a Form W-2G, but winnings are still taxable. You are responsible for tracking and reporting them.
• Age and rules differ. Many offshore sites accept customers at 18, below the 21 minimum at Mississippi’s licensed sportsbooks, and using a VPN or misstating your location can void winnings or lock your funds under the site’s own terms.

The short profiles below are factual descriptions, not endorsements. Each of these sites accepts Mississippi players, and each operates without state or U.S. regulation.

Founding dates above are approximate and reflect the operators’ own claims, since offshore company histories are not independently audited. Several of these brands share ownership or technology: BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag run on the same platform, and MyBookie and XBet are sister sites. Where a regulated option exists for the kind of betting you want to do, it is the safer choice. In Mississippi that means a licensed casino sportsbook, or legal alternatives such as daily fantasy sports and federally regulated prediction markets covered later on this page.

About 30 casinos offer in-person sports betting in Mississippi, organized by the Gaming Commission into a few regions: the Gulf Coast around Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis; the Upper River Region in the northwest near Memphis, which includes Tunica Resorts and Lula; and the Lower River Region around Vicksburg, Greenville and Natchez. Three tribal casinos run by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians also offer wagering. Short reviews by region follow, with a complete list of every land-based sportsbook in the table at the end.

Gulf Coast Sportsbooks (Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis)

The Gulf Coast is the heart of Mississippi sports betting and generates the majority of the state’s handle. Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi runs a BetMGM sportsbook and was one of the first two casinos to take a legal bet in the state. Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi runs a Caesars sportsbook just off the casino floor and is one of the few properties with an on-property mobile app. IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi runs a FanDuel book, while Golden Nugget Biloxi and Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville both run DraftKings books. Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi operates a Bally Bet sportsbook.

Several Gulf Coast casinos run their own house sportsbooks, including Boomtown Casino Biloxi, Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel in Biloxi, Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis and Silver Slipper Casino Hotel near Bay St. Louis. Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi runs the CONTACT Sports and Race Book and was the first casino on the Gulf Coast to take legal horse racing bets, in 2019.

Upper River Sportsbooks (Tunica Resorts and Lula)

The Tunica cluster in the northwest draws bettors from Memphis and neighboring states. Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica Resorts runs a BetMGM sportsbook and shares the honor of taking the state’s first legal bet on Aug. 1, 2018. Horseshoe runs a Caesars book, and Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall runs a FanDuel book. The area also includes the house sportsbooks at Hollywood Casino Tunica, Fitz Tunica and 1st Jackpot Casino, where The Sports Book at Fitz features 28 screens. Farther south in the Delta, Isle of Capri in Lula runs a Caesars sportsbook.

Lower River Sportsbooks (Vicksburg, Greenville and Natchez)

The river region has a tight group of casino sportsbooks. Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg runs The End Zone Sportsbook, and Bally’s Vicksburg runs the VB Sportsbook under the Bally Bet brand. Riverwalk Casino and Hotel, owned by Churchill Downs, runs a TwinSpires sportsbook, and WaterView Casino and Hotel, formerly Diamond Jacks, runs its own house book. In Greenville, Trop Casino Greenville runs a Caesars book and Harlow’s Casino Resort and Spa runs a TwinSpires book. Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez runs the Playmakers Sportsbook.

Tribal Sportsbooks (Pearl River Resort, Choctaw)

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians operates sportsbooks that fall outside the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Silver Star Hotel and Casino and Golden Moon Hotel and Casino in Philadelphia, and Bok Homa Casino in Sandersville, offer in-person betting and the Pearl River Sports mobile app, which works only on casino property.

Full List of Mississippi Land-Based Sportsbooks

The exact number of operating sportsbooks shifts as casinos open, close or change brands, so check the Mississippi Gaming Commission for the current roster.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission is the state agency that licenses, regulates and polices commercial casino gaming, including retail sports betting. It was created by the Mississippi Gaming Control Act and built its reputation during what the agency calls the Mississippi Miracle, when gaming transformed quiet Coastal and river counties into major destinations. The Department of Revenue collects the gaming taxes. The work is split across several divisions.

• Enforcement Division. Agents monitor licensed casinos, inspect premises and equipment, and respond to patron complaints and disputes with casinos.
• Gaming Laboratory Division. This division approves gaming devices, table games and sportsbook programs before they reach the public, and it assists with patron disputes over equipment.
• Compliance Division. This division audits the financial and accounting records of licensees to confirm they follow internal controls and state and federal law.
• Legal Division. Staffed by the Office of the Attorney General, it represents and advises the Commission.
• Executive and Administration Divisions. These run the agency’s daily operations and oversee the statewide self-exclusion program.

Licensing and Fees

Casinos must apply to the Commission and receive the executive director’s approval before accepting sports wagers. Each licensed casino pays an annual gaming license fee of $5,000, plus license fees based on the number of games offered and additional municipal and county fees based on location. Gaming taxes and license fees are reported and paid online, with weekly returns due the following Friday and a monthly reconciliation due on the 20th of the next month.

Reporting Illegal Gambling and Patron Disputes

The Commission’s website provides gaming forms, monthly revenue reports and a way to report illegal gambling in the state. If you have a dispute with a casino sportsbook over a wager or a payout, the Enforcement Division is responsible for handling patron complaints. The Commission’s main public information line is reachable at (601) 576-3874.

Gambling in Mississippi is governed by the Mississippi Gaming Control Act, found in the state code at Sections 75-76-1 through 75-76-325. The act dates to 1990, when the Legislature authorized dockside and riverboat casinos and created the Mississippi Gaming Commission to regulate them.

Mississippi cleared the way for sports betting in 2017. The Fantasy Contest Act, House Bill 967, legalized daily fantasy sports and, in the same legislation, removed the language in state law that had prohibited wagering on sports. That left only the federal ban standing in the way. The law also defines a sports pool, in Section 75-76-5, as the business of accepting wagers on collegiate or professional sporting events, which is why betting on college sports, including in-state teams, is permitted.

The defining feature of Mississippi law is the on-property requirement. The Commission’s sports and race pool regulations allow electronic, or mobile, wagering only within an approved casino and hotel facility, and they specify that mobile gaming may not extend outside the property boundaries of the casino. That is the legal reason there is no statewide online betting. Separately, Section 75-76-35 authorizes the Commission to keep an exclusion list of people barred from all licensed casinos.

Official Government Resources

• Mississippi Gaming Commission
• Mississippi Gaming Commission monthly revenue reports
• Mississippi Gaming Commission sports and race pool regulations
• Mississippi Gaming Commission regulations index
• Mississippi Gaming Commission self-exclusion program
• Mississippi Department of Revenue, gaming taxes and reports
• Mississippi Lottery Corporation
• Mississippi Gaming Control Act, Chapter 75-76
• Mississippi Code Section 75-76-5, definitions
• Mississippi Code Section 75-76-33, regulations and on-premises rule
• Mississippi Legislature bill status, to track betting bills

Mississippi was one of the fastest states out of the gate after the federal ban fell, and that speed was the result of groundwork laid years earlier. Understanding the timeline starts with the state’s long history of casino gaming.

Mississippi legalized dockside casino gaming in 1990, and the first casino opened in 1992, floating down the Mississippi River from Iowa to its permanent home. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the Gulf Coast in 2005, the law was changed to let casinos rebuild on land within 800 feet of the shoreline, and the rebuilt coast grew into one of the largest casino markets in the country.

On sports betting specifically, the groundwork started in 2014, when a state House gaming task force began studying online and mobile gambling and concluded that revenue projections were uncertain and that a rural state would face technology hurdles. The decisive step came in 2017. With House Bill 967, the Fantasy Contest Act, signed into law in March 2017, Mississippi legalized daily fantasy sports. Tucked into that same bill was language that quietly repealed the part of state law prohibiting sports betting. State gaming officials said they were ready to write regulations as soon as federal law allowed.

That moment arrived on May 14, 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in Murphy v. NCAA, the 1992 law that had banned sports betting in most of the country. The Mississippi Gaming Commission released draft regulations within hours and issued its official sports betting rules in June 2018. After a 30-day review period the regulations took effect and casinos began applying for approval.

Mississippi took its first legal sports bets on Aug. 1, 2018, with Beau Rivage in Biloxi and Gold Strike in Tunica Resorts opening their windows. Former LSU player Robert Royal placed one of the first bets at Beau Rivage. Sam’s Town, Horseshoe and IP Casino followed quickly, and by the end of August 2018 about 20 commercial casinos were taking bets. Tribal casinos run by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians later opened their own sportsbooks. Getting live before the football season meant the state captured a full slate of NFL and college betting in its first months.

Mississippi Sports Betting Timeline

• 1990: The Mississippi Gaming Control Act authorizes dockside casinos and creates the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
• 1992: The state’s first casino opens.
• 2014: A state House gaming task force begins studying online and mobile gambling.
• March 2017: House Bill 967, the Fantasy Contest Act, legalizes daily fantasy sports and removes the state’s sports betting prohibition.
• May 14, 2018: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal sports betting ban in Murphy v. NCAA.
• June 2018: The Mississippi Gaming Commission issues official sports betting regulations.
• Aug. 1, 2018: The first legal sports bets are placed at Beau Rivage and Gold Strike.
• September 2021: BetMGM launches the state’s first on-property mobile app.
• 2022: Four mobile betting bills die in committee.
• March 2023: Gov. Tate Reeves signs House Bill 606, creating a mobile sports betting task force.
• Feb. 1, 2024: The House passes mobile betting bill HB 774 by a 97-14 vote; it later dies in the Senate.
• April 10, 2024: Caesars launches an on-property mobile app at Harrah’s Gulf Coast.
• 2025: A House-passed mobile bill dies in conference committee.
• March 2025: Cumulative betting handle surpasses $3 billion.
• 2026: The House passes HB 1581 by 85-31 and HB 4074 by 100-11; both die in the Senate.

Mobile betting exists in Mississippi, but only in a limited form. A few casinos offer an app, and you must be on casino property for it to accept your wager. Geolocation confirms you are inside the boundary the regulator has approved for gaming. The legal apps are BetMGM at Beau Rivage and Gold Strike, Caesars at Harrah’s Gulf Coast, and Pearl River Sports at the three Choctaw tribal casinos.

Why Statewide Mobile Betting Has Not Passed

Statewide mobile betting, the kind that lets you wager from your couch, has repeatedly failed in the Legislature. The House has approved it three years in a row, but the bills have stalled in the Senate, where the Gaming Committee chairman has declined to give them a hearing. The main objection is concern that statewide online betting could pull revenue away from the brick-and-mortar casinos that anchor the Gulf Coast and river markets, along with concerns about problem gambling and a desire to make sure smaller casinos are not squeezed out. To study the issue, lawmakers passed House Bill 606 in 2023, which created a 13-member task force that reported to the Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, known as PEER.

The 2026 Legislative Session

In the 2026 session, the House passed HB 1581 by a vote of 85-31, then passed a revised version, HB 4074, by 100-11. HB 4074 would have let the state’s commercial casinos partner with up to two online betting platforms each, taxed mobile betting at 22%, cut the casino gaming tax from 8% to 6%, directed a large payment to the state employees’ retirement system and set an online launch date of no later than Dec. 8, 2026. Both bills died in the Senate. Because the Senate Gaming Committee chairman is in office through 2028, most observers expect statewide online betting will not arrive before the 2027 session at the earliest.

How Mississippi Compares to Its Neighbors

Mississippi is increasingly an outlier in the region. Tennessee launched online-only sports betting in 2020, Louisiana added retail and online wagering in 2021 and 2022, and Arkansas brought online betting online in 2022. That gap drives Mississippi residents across state lines to bet and is a frequent argument supporters use to push for statewide mobile betting at home. Alabama, to the east, has not legalized sports betting in any form.

The Future of Online Sports Betting in Mississippi

The path to statewide online betting in Mississippi runs through the Senate. The House has shown clear, repeated support, but the Senate Gaming Committee has blocked the bills, and its chairman is in office through 2028. That makes 2027 the earliest realistic window for legalization, and even that is not guaranteed. Supporters point to the tax revenue and oversight the state is losing as residents bet across state lines and through unregulated sites, while opponents continue to worry about the effect on brick-and-mortar casinos. If a bill does pass, the national operators that already run retail books in the state, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars, are positioned to launch quickly.

A few rules shape what and how you can bet in Mississippi.

• Age. You must be 21 or older to bet on sports. Casinos verify age and identity with a government-issued photo ID.
• Location. All bets, including mobile bets, must be placed on the property of a licensed casino. There is no legal off-property betting.
• College sports. Betting on college sports is allowed, including on in-state teams such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The annual Egg Bowl is one of the most heavily wagered events in the state. Confirm any sportsbook-specific limits on college player props before betting.
• High school sports. Wagering on high school sports is not allowed.
• Politics and elections. Licensed Mississippi sportsbooks do not offer betting on elections or political outcomes.
• Esports. Wagering on esports is not currently offered at Mississippi sportsbooks, though it has been proposed in mobile betting bills.
• Prohibited individuals. Athletes, coaches, referees and people on the Commission’s exclusion or self-exclusion lists cannot place bets.
• Bet size. There is no maximum on how much you can bet on a single game or event.

Live and In-Game Betting

Live betting, also called in-game betting, lets you wager on a game after it has started, with odds that update in real time as the action unfolds. Mississippi’s retail sportsbooks and on-property apps offer live markets on major sports, including in-game moneylines, spreads, totals and props. As with every other form of betting in the state, you must be at the casino to place a live wager, which makes a fast app and quick teller service important.

Mississippi runs a smaller, retail-only market, but it has been durable. Bettors wagered more than $3 billion in total since the August 2018 launch, a milestone the state passed in early 2025. That handle has produced more than $327 million in sportsbook revenue and more than $39 million in tax benefits over that span. The market is heavily seasonal and football-driven. By one estimate, football makes up roughly 65% of all bets placed, and casinos in Biloxi, Vicksburg and Tunica draw cross-state visitors from Alabama and Louisiana during big sports weekends.

The Gulf Coast generates the majority of the state’s handle. Mississippi books also tend to post a high hold, meaning they keep a larger share of wagers than books in many other states, a pattern tied to heavy parlay play and a low average bet size. In September 2025, a strong football month, the state took $39.1 million in bets at a hold of about 17.5%, one of the highest margins in the country. December 2025 produced a handle of about $38.7 million.

How Operators Are Taxed

Mississippi taxes a sportsbook’s gross gaming revenue under the same structure that applies to casino gaming. The state portion is graduated, topping out at 8%, and local governments can add up to about 4% more, for a combined rate of roughly 12%. The Department of Revenue collects the tax and publishes monthly and annual reports, with casino revenue data going back to August 1992. The 2026 mobile betting bill would have set a separate 22% rate on online wagering while cutting the casino rate to 6%, but it did not pass.

Taxes on Your Winnings

Mississippi handles taxes on player winnings differently from most states, and the rules are worth understanding before you cash a big ticket. None of the following is tax advice, and you should confirm your own situation with a tax professional.

Mississippi withholds a flat 3% of qualifying gambling winnings at the time of payout, and that withholding is non-refundable. In practice this means the 3% is treated as the final state tax on those winnings. Non-residents generally do not file a Mississippi return for gambling winnings, and Mississippi residents do not get the 3% back, which keeps filing simpler than in states that tax gambling winnings at regular income rates. The withholding applies to larger wins of the kind that trigger a federal Form W-2G.

Sports betting and other gambling winnings are taxable as ordinary income on your federal return, whether or not you receive a tax form. A casino or sportsbook issues a federal Form W-2G for certain wins, such as $600 or more at odds of 300 to 1 or longer, $1,200 or more on slots, $1,500 or more on keno and $5,000 or more in a poker tournament, and federal withholding of 24% can apply to large prizes. You are responsible for reporting all winnings even when no W-2G is issued, which is especially important if you bet on an offshore site, since those operators do not provide tax forms. Mississippi Lottery prizes of $600 or more are also subject to state and federal income tax withholding.

Betting in Person

1. Visit a licensed casino sportsbook. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID. You must be 21 or older.
2. Decide on your wager. You can bet at a staffed teller window or at a self-service kiosk. Some casinos let you build a bet slip on an app before you arrive.
3. Tell the teller, or enter at the kiosk, the game, the bet type and the amount. You will receive a printed ticket.
4. Keep the ticket. If your bet wins, you redeem the ticket at the cashier for your payout.

Betting on an On-Property App

1. Choose a casino that offers an app, such as Beau Rivage, Gold Strike or Harrah’s Gulf Coast, or a Choctaw tribal casino.
2. Download the app and create an account. You can register and manage funds from anywhere in the state, but you can only place a wager while on casino property.
3. Connect to the casino location so the app can confirm you are inside the approved boundary, then place your bet. Complete any transactions before you leave, since the app will stop accepting wagers once you are off property.

Banking and Payment Methods

At retail windows and kiosks, cash is the standard for placing bets, and winning tickets are redeemed for cash at the cashier. On-property apps tied to a registered account typically support debit cards, online banking and similar methods for deposits and withdrawals, subject to each operator’s rules. Because there is no statewide online market, the wide menus of digital payment options found in full mobile states are not a factor for most Mississippi bettors.

Types of Sports Bets You Can Place

• Moneyline. A bet on which team or player wins outright.
• Point spread. A bet on the margin of victory, where the favorite gives points and the underdog gets them.
• Totals, or over/under. A bet on whether the combined score goes over or under a set number.
• Parlays and parlay cards. Multiple bets combined into one ticket for a larger payout, with every leg needing to win.
• Teasers and pleasers. Parlay variations that adjust the point spreads in exchange for changed payouts.
• Props. Bets on specific outcomes within a game, such as a player’s statistics.
• Futures. Long-term bets, such as a champion or a season win total.
• Live, or in-game. Bets placed after a game starts, with odds updating in real time.

Mississippi is football country, and college football leads the way. The Ole Miss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, both in the Southeastern Conference, draw the most attention, and their annual Egg Bowl rivalry is a major betting event. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Jackson State Tigers add to the college slate.

Mississippi has no major professional team of its own, so fans follow nearby franchises. In the NFL that means the New Orleans Saints, the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys. In the NBA, the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans draw the most interest. Hockey fans follow the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues, and baseball fans pull for the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Super Bowl and the men’s college basketball tournament are the biggest betting events of the year at Mississippi casinos.

Sportsbook Partnerships With Regional Teams

Mississippi has no major professional team of its own, but several nearby franchises have signed partnerships with sportsbook operators, which can matter to fans deciding where to bet. The Tennessee Titans named BetMGM an official partner in 2020. The Nashville Predators partnered with Bally’s in 2021. The New Orleans Saints are partnered with Caesars, which also holds the naming rights to their home stadium. The New Orleans Pelicans have worked with BetRivers, Bally’s and Caesars, the Memphis Grizzlies are Caesars partners, and the St. Louis Blues partner with DraftKings. In college, Louisiana State University named Caesars its athletics betting partner in 2021.

Mississippi Sports Betting Bonuses and Promotions

Because Mississippi has no statewide online market, sportsbook bonuses are far more limited than in neighboring states. Many of the large advertised welcome offers from national operators are explicitly not available in Mississippi. The promotions that do exist break down into a few categories.

• On-property offers. Caesars has run a welcome offer at Harrah’s Gulf Coast that gives a 100% profit boost on a new customer’s first 20 bets after an opening bet of just $1, usable only while inside the Biloxi casino. BetMGM has at times offered a first-bet promotion of up to $1,500 at Beau Rivage and Gold Strike, again on property only.
• Event vouchers. Casino sportsbooks occasionally hand out small free-bet vouchers during marquee events such as the Super Bowl or the men’s college basketball tournament. These are not heavily advertised.
• Loyalty programs. Since you are betting in person anyway, casino rewards programs such as Caesars Rewards and MGM Rewards can return real value through comps and tier credits.

If Mississippi legalizes statewide mobile betting, expect competitive welcome offers from FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars, which already operate retail books in the state. The common bonus types to know are first-bet or no-sweat offers, where a losing first bet is refunded in bonus bets; bet-and-get offers, where a small qualifying bet unlocks a fixed bonus; deposit matches; profit boosts; parlay insurance; referral bonuses; and cashback. When you compare offers, look at the real value, the wagering requirements, the validity period and any game or event restrictions. Offshore sites advertise large bonuses, but those offers come with the lack of regulation and consumer protection described in the offshore section above. For more, see our guide to sportsbook bonuses.

• Daily fantasy sports. Legal since the 2017 Fantasy Contest Act and regulated by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, daily fantasy contests are available statewide from operators such as DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, Underdog and Sleeper. They are the most practical at-home option for engaging with sports. Note that some pick-style products have been pulled from the state at various times.
• Prediction markets. Federally regulated event-contract platforms such as Kalshi let users trade on outcomes under a federal framework rather than state betting law. Their status in Mississippi is a developing legal gray area, as the state has been among those pushing back against these platforms.
• Horse racing. Pari-mutuel horse race betting is available at licensed casinos. Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi was the first Gulf Coast casino to take legal horse bets, in 2019. There are no horse or dog tracks operating in the state.
• Sweepstakes and social sportsbooks. Free-to-play and sweepstakes platforms operate in the state, but Mississippi lawmakers have repeatedly moved to ban sweepstakes-style gambling, so their status is uncertain.
• Casino gaming. Mississippi’s casinos offer the full menu of slots, table games and poker, which vary by property.

The Mississippi Lottery

The state lottery is run by the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, a state-owned corporation created by the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law, Senate Bill 2001, passed in a 2018 special session and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant. The law is named for Rep. Alyce G. Clarke, the longest-serving female legislator in state history, who introduced lottery bills for two decades before they passed. Mississippi was one of the last states to adopt a lottery, long blocked by an unusual coalition of religious groups and the casino industry, both of which opposed it for different reasons.

The Mississippi Lottery Corporation operates the games, oversees security, marketing, sales, prize payments and the network of licensed retailers, and reports to a board. The minimum age to buy a ticket is 21, higher than the 18 used by most states and matching the state’s casino age. Lottery games are limited to paper tickets and instant tickets; video lottery is specifically excluded by law.

Sales began with four scratch-off games on Nov. 25, 2019, which drew more than $2.5 million in sales on the first day. The corporation joined the Multi-State Lottery Association, and Powerball and Mega Millions tickets went on sale on Jan. 30, 2020. The first in-state draw game, Cash 3, launched on Sept. 1, 2020. Today the lineup includes Powerball and Mega Millions, in-state draw games such as Cash 3, Cash 4, Cash Pop, Mississippi Match 5 and Lotto, and more than 80 scratch-off games priced from $1 to $20.

Net proceeds, meaning gross sales minus prizes and operating costs, are transferred to the state within 20 days after the close of each month. The first $80 million in net proceeds each fiscal year goes to the State Highway Fund for repairing and maintaining roads and bridges, an arrangement that runs through June 30, 2028. Any net proceeds above $80 million in a year go to the Education Enhancement Fund. Starting July 1, 2028, the first $80 million will instead flow to the State General Fund, while amounts above $80 million continue to support education. By early 2024 the lottery had topped $2 billion in total sales in under five years and had returned more than $500 million to the state, including more than $377 million to the Highway Fund and more than $142 million to the Education Enhancement Fund.

Prizes under $600 can be claimed at any lottery retailer. Prizes from $600 to $99,999 are claimed at Mississippi Lottery headquarters or by mail, and prizes of $600 or more are subject to state and federal income tax withholding. Under the lottery law, the corporation does not publicly disclose a winner’s identity, so winners may remain anonymous, and a prize may be claimed through a trust. The lottery is governed by Title 27, Chapter 115 of the state code, and more detail is available at the Mississippi Lottery Corporation website.

Sports betting should stay fun and affordable. You must be 21 or older to bet, and licensed Mississippi sportsbooks offer responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. Casinos are also required to post problem gambling resources and helpline information and to keep clocks visible on the floor.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission Self-Exclusion Program

The Commission runs a statewide self-exclusion program that lets a person voluntarily bar themselves from all state-regulated casinos for a set period, with a minimum term of three years. The exclusion covers the casino property, its restaurants and its events, and the person is removed from casino marketing lists. Applications are available at any casino cage or security office and must be presented in person at a Commission office. Self-exclusion does not prevent a person from playing the Mississippi Lottery or bingo. The program is separate from the Commission’s involuntary exclusion list, which is authorized under Section 75-76-35.