The state House approved legislation Thursday for the second year in a row to legalize mobile sports betting, a move that puts Mississippi on track to join a growing number of states that allow online betting.

House Gaming Chairman Rep. Casey Eure, R-Saucier, is trying again to pass legislation after lawmakers couldn’t agree on a final proposal in 2024. Sports wagering has been permitted in the state for years, and casino gambling for decades. But online betting has remained illegal amid fears the move could harm the bottom line of the state’s casinos — a concern Eure acknowledged in committee and on the House floor.

“As I told y’all last year, I’m committed to and this bill is committed to our bricks-and-mortar casinos,” Eure said on Monday. “All mobile sports betting will still be tethered to bricks-and-mortar casinos in the state of Mississippi.”

In an 88-10 vote, the House approved a new version of the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, which Eure said was reworked to address concerns raised by the Senate last year. The new provision would allow a casino to partner with two sports betting platforms rather than one. Allowing casinos to partner with an extra platform is designed to assuage the concerns of casino leaders and lawmakers who represent areas where gambling is big business.

Last year, some lawmakers raised concerns that gambling platforms would have no incentive to partner with smaller casinos, and most of the money would instead flow to the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s already bustling larger casinos. That concern was raised again Monday by the Democratic leader, Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, who voted against the bill.

“You talk about partners, but there is nothing that says FanDuel or ESPN has to partner with any particular casino,” Johnson. “They just have to partner with a casino in the state of Mississippi.”

Johnson also said bets should be geofenced regionally, rather than within the state as a whole, to steer revenue to local casinos.

To protect smaller casinos from revenue losses, this year’s proposal would create a pot of money that establishments could draw from for the first five years after online sports betting becomes legal. The $6 million fund, generated from taxes on sports betting, would be replenished each year. Any unused money would go to fund road and bridge repairs.

Other changes include a provision that prevents people from placing bets with credit cards, a request from the Senate to guard against gambling addiction.

The proposal would levy a 12% tax on sports wagers, with revenue reaching all 82 counties via the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund. Eure said he believes the state is losing between $40 million and $80 million a year in tax revenue by keeping mobile sports betting illegal.

Proponents also say legalization would undercut the influence of illicit offshore sports betting platforms. Since the start of the NFL season this year, Mississippi has recorded 8.69 million attempts to access legal mobile sportsbooks, according to materials presented to House members at an earlier committee meeting. That demand fuels a thriving illegal online gambling market in Mississippi, proponents have said.

Mobile sports betting is legal in 30 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association.

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

A gold necklace with Jimmie “Jay” Lee’s name on it was found with human remains in Carroll County this weekend, but authorities have not publicly confirmed the remains belong to the missing University of Mississippi student and well-known member of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ community. 

Local authorities acknowledged the necklace was found with human remains that have yet to be identified through DNA. In a text, Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker acknowledged a picture of the necklace but said he had no comment. The Oxford Police Department could not be reached before press time.

An image of the cursive nameplate obtained by Mississippi Today matches a necklace that Lee wore in pictures and videos on his Instagram account as recently as two days before he went missing.

Lee’s body had been missing since July 2022 after his mother told local police that she had not heard from him. A few weeks later, a fellow Ole Miss student and recent graduate, Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., was arrested and accused of killing Lee to preserve their secret sexual relationship.

Herrington’s attorney, state Rep. Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, said he had no comment. Lee’s parents could not be reached.

The human remains were found about an hour and a half south of Oxford. The day Lee went missing, Herrington was seen on video retrieving a long-handle shovel and wheelbarrow from his parent’s house in Grenada County and putting it into the back of a box truck that belonged to his moving company, according to evidence released in the case.

Herrington was tried for capital murder in December by the Lafayette County District Attorney’s Office. A judge declared a mistrial after the jury, which was chosen in Forrest County, was hung 11-1, with the disagreeing juror reportedly unable to convict due to the lack of a body. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Annual campaign finance reports due Friday show the top potential contenders — at least to date — for Mississippi governor in 2027 were neck-and-neck in how much they raised last year.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch, reported to be eyeing a gubernatorial run, raised just under $1.3 million and has nearly $2.6 million in her campaign account.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who’s term limited in his current position and has expressed interest in a gubernatorial run, raised more than $1.5 million for the year, and has a cash balance in his campaign account of nearly $1.6 million.

State Auditor Shad White, who has said he is considering a run for governor, raised $1.16 million for the year, but started the year with a large balance and has nearly $3 million in his account.

Secretary of State Michael Watson, considered a contender for the lieutenant governor’s office, raised nearly $651,000 for the year and has a balance of more than $1.5 million in his account. State Sen. Briggs Hopson III, also considered a contender for the lieutenant governor’s race, raised nearly $259,000 and has a balance of nearly $588,000.

Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, often mentioned as a contender for higher office, has not shown the fundraising uptick of some other politicians. He raised a little over $133,000 for the year, and has about $238,000 cash on hand.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.