Mississippi Gaming Commissioner Comments Highlight Recent Sports Betting News
There has been a lot of advancement and news across the sports betting industry. Mississippi Gaming Commissioner Jay McDaniel gave his support for bringing online sportsbooks to the Magnolia State. In North Carolina, lawmakers are progressing toward the March 11 launch date. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, sportsbooks surpassed $890 million in sports betting handle for 2023. Let’s break down the recent sports betting news in these markets.
Mississippi Online Sports Betting Support
Mississippi lawmakers have been actively pursuing an online betting market for multiple legislative sessions. Every bill that has been presented has failed to garner enough votes to launch the market. HB 774 is the latest effort to bring Mississippi online sports betting to residents. This measure was successfully passed in the House of Representatives.
While the measure heads to the Senate for review, McDaniel gave his support for bringing mobile apps to locals. He stated that the added revenue from sportsbooks would benefit Mississippi, and residents are eager for the market.
“We would definitely see an increase in revenue just because it would reach all corners of the state,” McDaniel said. “I believe we would capture some from a state like Alabama that doesn’t have it right now legally.”
The American Gaming Association listed the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the nation’s top five gaming market. Operators have seen close to $1.6 billion in revenue from the local gambling market. With statewide sports betting at fans’ disposal, the Mississippi market would see an even larger boom in gambling revenue.
With McDaniel’s support, this bill may fare better than prior attempts to legalize online sports betting.
North Carolina Approves More Sports Betting Suppliers
The North Carolina Lottery Commission has granted GeoComply Solutions and SBTech Malta Limited sports betting supplier licenses. Market access will aid these companies in providing sports betting solutions for operators once the market goes live. So far, nine companies have gained supplier licenses in North Carolina.
NC Sports Betting Suppliers
- Aristitotle International Inc.
- Banach Technologies.
- Genius Sports Media Inc.
- GeoComply Solutions
- Socure, Inc.
- SBTech Malta Limited
- US Integrity Inc.
- Telecheck Services LLC.
- XPoint Services LLC.
The two recent additions are the only two entities with full licenses. The remaining seven are provisional licensees. Those with provisional licenses would need to complete their due diligence within 180 days to receive the full license.
Operators have also begun preparing for the impending launch of North Carolina sportsbooks. Pre-registration will go live beginning March 1, with the full market launch on March 11. Several major sportsbooks are expected to go live on launch day, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars Sportsbook. The additional sports betting supplier licenses show how active lawmakers work before the launch.
Kentucky Off To a Strong Start
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission revealed the official sports betting numbers for November and December of 2023. With the market launching in September, Kentucky’s first four months of betting paint a picture of a strong market. Since launch, Kentucky sportsbooks saw $892,370,162 in wagers with $110,199,075 in revenue. The state collected $15,545,112 in taxes.
The initial projections for Kentucky sports betting taxes were approximately $23 million in its first year. The market has surpassed half of those first-year projections in under four months. Kentucky has already proven to be a powerhouse in the sports betting industry.
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