Mississippi’s Unlawful Internet Sports Betting Expands While Legalization Delays

The campaign to allow mobile sports betting in Mississippi has sparked a discussion that has piqued the interest of both wealthy individuals and regular folks. It has taken place in crowded casinos on the coast, church pews in the Delta, and sports-obsessed college students’ group text chains.

Favourable legislative and technical advancements have resulted in tremendous expansion for the online gambling industry in recent years. However, the business continues to be undercut by illegitimate operations. According to research commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, a nonprofit that advocates against illicit gambling, online gross gaming income in the United States would exceed $90 billion by 2024, with unlicensed players receiving $67 billion of that.

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Mississippi has not legalized mobile sports betting nationwide, mostly because of concerns that doing so would hurt the state’s casinos’ bottom lines and lead to a rise in gambling addiction. Proponents stated that in 2024, illicit internet betting in Mississippi accounted for around $3 billion in illegal bets, or 5% of the country’s unlawful market.

According to documents provided to House members during a legislation session, Mississippi had 8.69 million unsuccessful tries to access legal mobile sportsbooks in other states between the beginning of the most recent NFL season and about March.

Speaking to Mississippi Today, those involved in unlawful internet sports gambling characterized a black market that connects modern technology with the illegal gambling customs of the past. Some bet on many websites worldwide, putting casinos against one another, using “arbitrage betting tools” and virtual private networks, or VPNs. Others use “bookies” to place bets on offshore gambling sites, keeping themselves somewhat apart from the actual betting process.

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