Betting in Mississippi

Mississippi was one of the first states to flip the sports-betting switch after PASPA fell in 2018, allowing retail sportsbooks at its commercial casinos. But that green light never extended to full statewide mobile betting. Outside of limited on-premises mobile - where you must be physically at a casino property - there is still no way to place a legal online sports wager from home in Mississippi.

For players, that creates a split reality: sports betting is legal, but it’s effectively tethered to casino floors - leaving a big gap on the online side of the market.

In both 2024 and 2025, the Mississippi House passed versions of the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, designed to legalize online sports betting through casino-tethered apps.

Each time, the roadblock has come later in the process - in the Senate or in conference - over familiar tensions: casino concerns about cannibalization, disagreements over tax and licensing structure, and reluctance to blow up a model that still works for many stakeholders.

From a bettor’s viewpoint, Mississippi always looks frustratingly “close” on paper, but the political system hasn’t been willing to actually push it over the line.

Prediction markets let users trade on real-world outcomes using simple yes/no contracts - Will MSU win? Will an economic number beat expectations? Will an event happen by a certain date?.

Platforms like Kalshi sit under federal oversight as a CFTC-regulated DCM, not under Mississippi’s casino and sportsbook licensing structures.

That difference is why Mississippi residents can legally use prediction markets even though full mobile sports betting is not legal. For players who want online, real-money exposure to sports, politics, and economic events without stepping into offshore territory, prediction markets are currently one of the cleanest, fastest-growing options available.

Social and sweepstakes-style sportsbooks and casinos are designed for states exactly like Mississippi. Instead of taking straight cash bets, they use virtual coins and a sweepstakes currency. You play games or make picks with the coins, and in certain modes you can redeem the sweepstakes currency for real cash prizes or gift cards. To the player, it often feels like a light version of an online casino or sportsbook - slot-style games, table-style experiences, and sports-style picks with real-money upside on the back end.

Right now, those sites do operate as an alternative for Mississippi players who want casino-style play or sports-flavored contests without using an offshore book. But the state has them squarely in its sights.

In 2025, lawmakers advanced a bill aimed at banning online sweepstakes casinos outright, classifying them alongside unlicensed offshore gambling and attaching felony penalties for both operators and promoters. The effort got tangled when mobile sports betting language was added, but the intent was clear enough that a new sweeps-ban bill was introduced again in 2026 with similarly heavy penalties.

For now, social and sweepstakes products still give Mississippians a lane to play games and compete for real prizes - but it is unclear for how long it will be open.

Mississippi is one of the states that didn’t leave DFS in a gray area. In 2017, lawmakers passed the Fantasy Contest Act (HB 967), which formally legalized paid fantasy contests, put them under the Mississippi Gaming Commission, and required operators to be licensed, audited, and taxed. If you’re playing classic salary-cap DFS on major platforms, you’re inside a clear, regulated lane.

Pick ’Em is a different story. In 2023, the Gaming Commission sent guidance to fantasy operators making it explicit that player-vs-house prop-style Pick ’Em contests are not allowed under Mississippi’s fantasy rules. Underdog, for example, shut down its Pick ’Em product in the state after that letter, keeping only its more traditional draft-style DFS contests live.

For Mississippi players, the takeaway is simple: classic DFS contests are legal and regulated, but the popular “parlay a bunch of player props against the house” Pick ’Em format has effectively been pushed out.

Because Mississippi doesn’t yet offer full mobile sportsbooks, offshore sites aggressively target the state and market themselves as if they’re just another betting app.

In reality, they operate outside U.S. law, without Mississippi licenses, and without any meaningful consumer protection. That risk isn’t theoretical: a coalition of all 50 state attorneys general has publicly urged the DOJ to crack down on illegal offshore gambling because of issues like non-payment, lack of age verification, and evasion of state boundaries and taxes.

For Mississippi bettors, the equation is simple: if something goes wrong with an offshore book, there’s no regulator to call and virtually no recourse. Given that legal DFS and federally regulated prediction markets are available, sending money offshore is almost always the worst play on the board.