��Mississippi Casinos Post Record Revenue in April B. Solomon,June 4, 2018 2:44





Mississippi's casinos produced gross gaming revenue of $184 million in April, or 5% a lot more in contrast to the identical month in 2017. In addition, that total represents an all-time high for the state, and is one.three% more than the prior record set in 2007 when thousands of volunteers entered Mississippi to help in cleanup efforts submit-Hurricane Katrina.

There are probably to be a lot more positive developments ahead for Mississippi's gambling market place, too, as it is considered a single of the state's most likely to introduce regulated sports betting in the coming months.

Market place AnalysisIn April, the Magnolia State twelve coastal casinos posted a mixed $108.six million in income, up by 9% versus the $99.2 million taken in the identical month a year ago, and by $1.four million compared to the previous record of $107.2 million reported for April 2007. As a outcome, these southern coastal casinos have now collected $407 million for the first 4 months of the yr, up by $three million from the identical time period in 2017.

The news was not so positive for the state's northern river casinos, though, whose revenue fell in April by .9% to $74.8 million, in accordance to information released by the Mississippi Department of Revenue.

State Lottery OptionMississippi is the country's sixth largest gambling state, and last year it produced $two.08 billion in income, of which all around $250 million was collected in the type of gambling taxes. However, the income figure was down by two% versus 2016, and reflects a common downturn in the industry following The Fantastic Economic downturn of 2007 to 2013.

Consequently, Mississippi has been taking into consideration a variety of diverse choices to make its gambling marketplace far more eye-catching, like introducing a lottery in purchase to supply an substitute to state residents traveling to neighboring states to place bets, such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. In accordance to estimates, a regulated lottery could result in an extra $100 million every yr for the state, that could then be employed to fund important projects. As Rep. Mark Baker explains:

 If that cash is going to go to educate kids and it is going to go to fix roads and bridges, then it ought to be in Mississippi. I am just getting a realist about it."


Sports activities BettingFollowing the U. site S. Supreme Court's selection to strike down the federal sports betting ban, Mississippi has emerged as 1 of the frontrunners to launch a regulated market in the country. Even ahead of the ruling was made, Mississippi had already anticipated the growth by passing a bill (HB 967) allowing legal sports activities betting, with analysts predicting that the market could be prepared in time for the football season.

The hope is that legalized sports betting will offer a a lot necessary boost to the state's quarter of a century previous gambling business, and its 28 casinos, especially these based in the river locations that have been struggling in current many years. Business professionals have more asserted that casinos will advantage from an upsurge in foot targeted traffic to their venues in the course of significant sporting events, such as the Super Bowl.

Proposed Sports RegulationThis month, the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) is expected to give its approval to a variety of laws to govern the state's prospective sports activities betting market. Amongst the measures proposed is restricting bets to casinos, imposing a twelve% tax on sports activities-wagering income, folks getting to pay a 25% tax on their winnings, and restricting coaches and athletes from putting bets on their very own teams.

As soon as the commission approves the regulations, it will subsequently get yet another 25 days just before they are finalized, and a more 30 days ahead of going into effect. It is hoped that sports betting will then be ready for the begin of the NFL season on September 6th, and as Tony Scudiero, common manager of Waterview Casino Vicksburg, explains:

 We feel really assured that almost everything is going to get carried out, and hopefully just ahead of football season begins, which is possibly the most well-liked of all the betting seasons."