JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Some of you may have filled out your March Madness columns this year. Others may have placed bets at state casinos.
This period highlights the lack of mobile online sports betting in the state. But that could change.
“It's something that people are going to start paying attention to, maybe they've never bet before, but now they want to,” said Jay McDaniel, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission. “I'm doing it,” he said. “And they may find that they can't legally do that without going to a casino.”
But if House Bill 774 passes this Congress, it could be as simple as launching an app on your phone.
Some casinos have introduced a mobile component, but you must be on-site to use it, which means your funds will move across state lines.
“We bet $20 million on March Madness last year,” McDaniel said. “Twenty million is kind of the number we're betting on. If you look at the surrounding states that have adopted mobile, we expect to see much more than that.”
And it's no secret that others, not just Mississippi, are betting on the black market.
“I think the American Gaming Association estimates that about $2.7 billion will be wagered on March Madness. That's legally true. The illegally estimated number is many times that,” McDaniel said. he said.
Ron Lilac, a distinguished professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law, was a member of a legislative task force on the issue last year that focused on encouraging continued protection.
“When we talk about mobile sports betting, if we're talking about people who may be exposed to gambling problems, those are the most vulnerable. […] The most vulnerable are young people between the ages of 20 and 35, and that's the range,” Lyshlak said. “And there are risks involved.”
He said he is exploring ways to make bets, legal or not, but that's something the Legislature should consider. Another element he considers important is ensuring that his bets on individual college players are not propped up.
“So I think it's important to first try to protect the athletes, the college athletes, who should be college athletes,” he added.
If the current bill passes, the Gaming Commission says it could be ready for implementation within a few months, as mobile betting technology is already in place at some casinos.
The Senate Gaming Committee has until April 2 to take action to keep the bill alive.
We asked the chairman if he intended to take up the matter, but we have not received a response.
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