Operators of Daily Fantasy Sports in Mississippi may soon see a bill passed that will outline the rules for regulation. Last year, Mississippi became the fourth state in the US to legalize DFS, and soon after that, gambling authorities called for a special study group to recommend rules for regulation. The findings from this study group formed the base for Mississippi House Bill 967, authored by Representative Richard Bennett.
On Wednesday, HB 967 failed to move through the House, however a call for reconsideration resulted in the bill passing on the following day. It now needs to make its way to the Senate before becoming law.
Some of the key features of Mississippi House Bill 967 include:
* Operators of Daily Fantasy Sports within Mississippi’s borders will be required to pay an 8% tax.
* The state Gaming Commission will be tasked with regulating issues governing DFS as well as land casinos in Mississippi.
* Local operators providing DFS services will have a background check performed on them by the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
* A background audit will need to be carried out once a year on operators.
* DFS operators will work under a special license issued to them.
* DFS players may not be younger than 21 years old.
* Local regulatory authorities will be tasked with preventing underage gaming.
Mississippi Lottery Bill Failed to Progress
In the meantime, another gambling bill that was reviewed by the House on the same day that it passed HB 967, failed to proceed any further to the Senate. This second bill pertains to the creation of a state lottery, is one of many attempts to introduce a Mississippi lottery in the past two decades.
In January this year, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said that he hoped Mississippi would create a state lottery this year as state tax collections were not able to cover all the expenses required by the Magnolia State to operate. Residents of the state frequently cross the border to buy lottery tickets in neighboring states, especially when the prizes are particularly large.
Mississippi is only one of six US states that do not have a state lottery.
Proponents of a lottery believe that the bulk of the money made from a lottery should go to education.
“We watch every year, millions of Mississippi money going to our neighboring states,” noted Rep. Jay Hughes, a Democrat from Oxford. “Why do we keep giving our money to Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas instead of funding our schools in Mississippi?”
