Mississippi is a slightly strange case when it comes to its sports betting laws.
You can bet on MLS in Mississippi, but not easily, and the reason this is strange is because the Magnolia State was more prepared to legalize sports betting when the federal law changed than almost any other. I’ll explain this in more detail below.
The state was not historically pro-gambling, either, with most gambling activities being illegal until the 1990s. For example, they banned slots and even pinball in 1938, and the only way to play casino games for the majority of the state’s history was on cruise ships just off the coast.
MLS fans have therefore had no chance of betting in Mississippi until relatively recently, although the state doesn’t have much interest in soccer in the first place.
The Road to Legal Sports Betting
The journey to legal sports betting in Mississippi began in 1990 with the passage of the Gaming Control Act. This allowed dockside casinos – essentially riverboat casinos – and the Mississippi Gaming Commission was established to regulate it. Much further up the Mississippi River, Iowa had similar floating casinos, so it wasn’t a unique idea.
It was tightly regulated, with casinos only allowed in specific jurisdictions where local referendums had been held to sign off on them, but it was a first step. Mississippi still had a state ban on sports betting, but this change opened the door to perhaps legalizing it in the future.
Then, the Federal Government slammed the door shut with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992. This made any kind of sports betting illegal across the whole country, and it wasn’t repealed until 2018. This meant that for the entire existence of Major League Soccer, no one in America had been able to bet on it.
Casino gambling was going great guns though, and at one point Mississippi had the 3rd biggest casino market in America. Perhaps it was this boost in taxable income that changed the state’s attitude towards gambling.
PASPA Repealed
In 2018, PASPA was repealed, giving each state the authority to make up their own minds on sports betting. Interestingly, Mississippi had already got their ducks in a row in preparation.
A year earlier, they passed the Fantasy Contest Act, allowing daily fantasy sports betting in the state. This was not covered under PASPA. In doing so, they also overturned their own state wide ban on sports betting, meaning that as soon as PASPA was repealed they could move to introduce traditional sports betting. This they did on the 18th of August, making them one of the first states in America to legalize sports betting.
However, they way in which they did this was quite reserved.
Sports betting was allowed, but only on site at licensed casinos. Mobile betting was allowed too, but again, only on licensed casino sites. The apps were geofenced so they would not work outside of the boundary. Since almost all of the casinos in the state were on the river, this meant sports betting was still incredibly difficult to do for most Mississippians.
Why State Wide Mobile Betting is Still Banned
Despite being quick off the mark to legalize sports betting, Mississippi law makers took a very cautious approach.
There are a number of reasons for this:
- Older statesmen and women with more conservative views
- Casino’s not supportive do to fear of losing trade
- Worries about a drop in footfall impacting other industries like hospitality
- Concerns about how the tax revenue would be distributed
- Questions around the social impact due to potential gambling harm
There seems to be a big divide in how the state wants to move forward with this, because there have been several attempts to loosen the rules around mobile betting.
House Bill 997 was introduced in 2022, which would have allowed mobile wagers so long as the account owner registered in person at a venue, but it failed in committee. House Bill 774 was proposed in 2024, which would have allowed state wide mobile betting so long as the online platform was partnered with a physical casino, passed the House but failed at the Senate. Most recently, House Bill 1302 (which built on the framework of HB 774) was tabled and passed the House with an 88-10 majority, but again, looks likely to fail at the senate.
This will be frustrating for any local MLS fans who want to bet on their teams, but there is hope. The House is generally made up of younger House Representatives, whereas the Senate tends to have older Senators in position. Sometimes much older. As these Senators move on, House Representatives will fill their positions and attitudes may change.
MLS Teams in Mississippi
Since the Magnolia State only has a population of around 3 million people, and the largest concentration of those is only around 145,000 in Jackson, Mississippi can’t realistically support their own soccer club. Not at the MLS level, anyway.
There are some smaller soccer clubs there, such as the Mississippi Brilla, but they are not a pro team and play in USL 2. Another club playing at the same level, the Jackson Chargers, existed between 1995 and 1999, but couldn’t drum up enough support to survive.
This is indicative of Mississippi’s relationship with soccer – they don’t really have one.
American football, baseball, and basketball are all far more popular sports for Mississippians, while soccer is played mainly at a grassroots level if at all.
The state is quite cut off from Major League Soccer in general. The nearest MLS team is Nashville SC, but that’s 172 miles and a 3 hour drive from the Mississippi/Tennessee border, so it’s an unrealistic distance to travel for 99% of Mississippians. Atlanta United it’s the next closest club, but they are two states away in Georgia.
In reality then, there probably aren’t that many people in Mississippi looking to bet on MLS, but if they want to, they will need to get themselves to a licensed venue to do so.