Mississippi Senate Pushes Sweepstakes Ban with SB 2510

Bill Clears Senate, Hits Conference Snag

Led by Senator Joey Fillingane, the bill jacks up penalties for illegal online gambling and bans sweepstakes games outright. It sailed through with a 51-0 vote, tagging violators, and unlicensed operators, with fines up to $10,000 and 10 years in prison.

But the House tossed in language legalizing online sports betting, gumming up the works. Now, it’s off to a conference committee with Senators Fillingane, Mike Thompson, and David Blount hashing it out.

Sweepstakes stay legal for now. Until the committee sorts this tangle, Mississippi’s sweepstakes scene keeps humming. The bill doesn’t spell out what sweepstakes casinos are, just calls them unlicensed, but the intent’s clear, shut them down.

From Rejection to Restart

This isn’t SB 2510’s first rodeo. Back in February, the Senate made waves as the first U.S. chamber to pass a sweepstakes ban, only to ditch it when the House added sports betting clauses.

Fillingane rebooted it, keeping the focus on hiking fines and axing sweepstakes, but the House doubled down, sneaking sports betting back in. That tweak sparked the current standoff, landing the bill in conference as the session clock ticks toward April 2025’s end.

The flip-flop’s telling. Mississippi’s lawmakers nod in sync on sweepstakes, seen as a gray-area dodge around gambling laws, but sports betting splits the room.

The state’s $3.5 billion in casino revenue for 2024, per Gaming Commission stats, comes from brick-and-mortar spots, not online. SB 2510’s penalties aim to keep it that way, targeting platforms raking in untaxed cash.