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Despite the lack of mobile wagering, Mississippi sports betting still collected more than $5.5 million in overall revenue in September.
As anticipated, the first full month of football led to more than $31.7 million in handle, according to numbers posted by the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
It’s a major increase considering that in August, casinos took in only $644,000 in revenue on $6.3 million in wagers.
Football in Mississippi
The MGC separates the state’s 28 casinos into three regions: Coastal, Central and Northern.
This time around, 10 casinos offered sports betting, which is a partial reason for the large jump in revenue compared to August numbers.
Below is a breakdown of football revenue by region:
- Coastal – $2,923,511
- Northern – $637,030
- Central – $421,225
- Total – $3,981,766
Overall revenue by region:
- Coastal – $3,909,046
- Northern – $1,124,181
- Central – $470,564
- Total – $5,503,792
Breaking down gaming in the South
Football, especially SEC football, reigns supreme in Mississippi. It alone accounted for nearly three-quarters of all sports betting revenue for the month.
Other sports such as basketball and baseball did not perform as well. In total, basketball revenue lost $2,001 while baseball revenue lost $114,122.
Parlay bets netted $1.4 million in total revenue while bets categorized as “other” added an additional $178,358.
The state also posted a win percentage of 17.3 for the month. The Magnolia State’s high win percentage dwarfs that of Nevada’s historical hold of 5 percent.
This could be a good sign, as long as football season is here.
The big picture for US sports betting
It must also be noted that in the larger scheme of things, mobile sports betting is still absent.
State law only permits mobile wagering within casino grounds. So far, no Mississippi casino has chosen to introduce it.
This runs contrary to other states that legalized sports betting following the US Supreme Court’s decision to do away with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Mississippi, and West Virginia all legalized sports wagering in their respective states this year.
New Mexico introduced land-based sports wagering on October 17. Pennsylvania plans on launching sports betting later this year and New York is currently developing sports betting regulations for its four commercial casinos.
New Jersey mobile sports betting already outperforms land-based betting and West Virginia plans to introduce mobile wagering as well.
According to industry sources, roughly three-quarters of sports betting now takes place on mobile devices in Nevada.
IL sports betting could soon be a reality along with other states like Indiana, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia planning to introduce sports betting bills next year. So far, lawmakers from each state have hinted that mobile wagering will be a component of any proposed bill.
This means there is potential for Mississippi to capitalize on even more revenue should they move forward with online wagering in the future.
