A bill in Mississippi that would increase taxes on land-based casinos in an attempt to help offset lost revenues from illegal sports betting is making progress in the House.
HB 1881, the Integrity in Gaming in Support of Honest Taxpayers Act, would impose an additional 4% tax on gross casino revenue. That would take the casino tax ceiling in the state from 12% to 16%. Currently, 8% of casino revenues go to the state and 4% to local schools and government.
Rep. Trey Lamar’s bill asserts that the State of Mississippi is losing approximately $50 million dollars annually due to illegal gambling. The purpose of his legislation is to generate revenue that will be used to replace that lost revenue.
The bill originated in the House Ways and Means Committee, which Lamar chairs, and was approved on Tuesday. It will subsequently be read and debated in the full chamber.
The act would be effective July 1 of this year.
Local media including The Clarion-Ledger reports that Lamar said at the committee session on Tuesday that the proposed tax increase would likely raise more than $50 million in extra annual tax revenue.
Other bills in play to tackle “rampant” illegal sports betting
Lamar told his committee members that illegal sports betting is “rampant” in Mississippi and said a motivation for filing the bill was to ensure the state is generating more revenue from existing gambling, given that he expects the push to legalize sports wagering to die in the Senate.
“We either need to enforce the current laws or find a way to legalize it where it’s taxed appropriately,” he added. “The goalposts continue to be moved on the other end of the building … It’s my understanding that a small handful of casinos are standing in the way of that [betting] legislation.”
Advocates for legal sports betting have argued that it could generate more than $20 million in annual revenue. Lamar cited estimates that all forms of legal online gambling could raise between $26 million a year to $80 million per year.
Sports betting proposal looks to protect casinos
A bill to legalize mobile sports betting, Rep. Casey Eure’s HB 1302, was approved by the full Mississippi House in early February and referred to the Senate Gaming Committee.
That bill would allow existing casino licensees only to offer online sports wagering by letting them partner with up to two digital sportsbooks each. It also proposed a Retail Sports Wagering Protection Fund, wherein a chunk of the revenue generated by a 12% tax on sports betting would help to fund smaller casinos.
But Mississippi has been here before on sports betting, with bills getting the green light in the House before dying in the Senate. Another sports betting bill, HB 682, has already died in the legislature this year and HB 1302’s progress in the Senate this year is uncertain.
