Gambling Laws In Mississippi

1. Gambling Laws In Mississippi Counties
2. Mississippi Casino Rules
3. Gambling Laws In Mississippi Casinos
4. Can You Gamble Online In Mississippi

Mississippi residents can still gamble online using international online casinos and sportsbooks, which aren’t bound by Mississippi law. These international sites also have fewer player restrictions than Mississippi’s brick-and-mortar casinos, making them indispensable for players who don’t care about the casino atmosphere and just want to play their favorite games with as little hassle as possible. Below, you will find information for how to legally participate in various forms of gambling in Mississippi, both at in-state retailers and with international gambling sites.

FindLaw's Mississippi Gambling and Lotteries Laws section covers the gaming-related laws of the state, both in terms of gambling in general (such as casinos and horse tracks) and official state lotteries. While Mississippi does not allow horse racing, licensed casinos are able to operate as water-borne riverboats. In addition, Native American casinos are legal in the state.

This page will cover the legal gambling ages in Mississippi for the various types of gambling available. Mississippi is one of the top states in the country for casino gambling and has seen its gambling footprint grow even further in recent years with the legalization of sports betting. However, gambling doesn’t have universal approval within the state, and there is a fragile equilibrium between anti-gambling religious politicians and casino officials who want to expand gambling as much as possible. This impasse has led to the prohibition of online gambling in Mississippi.

Mississippi Ages For Gambling
Legal Sports Betting Age in Mississippi	21
Legal Casino Age in Mississippi	21
Legal Poker Age in Mississippi	18
Legal Lottery Age in Mississippi	21
Legal Horse Betting Age in Mississippi	n/a
Legal DFS Age in Mississippi	21
Legal Bingo Age in Mississippi	18

Mississippi Gambling Laws and Regulatory Organizations The minimum gambling age in Mississippi is 21. There are a few legal gambling options available in MS, including: Casino gambling Sports betting Bingo Charitable gaming The lottery has been legalized as of 2020, so Mississippi. Mississippi gambling laws void all gambling contracts. Losers, or their families, are permitted to sue the winner if money is lost through an illegal gambling scheme. This is called a qui tam law. The minimum gambling age in Mississippi is 21 years casino players, while the minimum age for charity gambling is. Mississippi gambling regulations are listed in Mississippi code, Section 97 and 75. The law is very vague when it comes to online gambling – participating in unlicensed games is illegal, and the money gained from such games can be added to the punishment as an.

What Is The Legal Gambling Age At Casinos In Mississippi?

The legal casino gambling age in Mississippi is 21 years old. The statewide gambling age is 18, but casinos usually have alcohol licenses, which makes it more prudent for both state judicial officials and the casinos themselves to require players to be 21. Online casinos will accept all players who are at least 18 years old, including those in Mississippi.

Legal Online Casinos For Mississippi Residents

There are no state-licensed online casinos in Mississippi, but residents can still gamble online on slots, table games, poker, etc. using global gambling sites like Ignition and Slots.lv. Sites like these offer a huge selection of gaming types to go with strong promotional bonuses to incentivize and empower players. Despite state gambling laws, international casinos are legal thanks to the fact that they are based in other countries, and thus Mississippi jurisdiction does not apply.

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Legal Mississippi Online Casinos

Mississippi Sports Betting Sites

Sports betting has been a primary area of focus for Mississippi lawmakers since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018. They passed a bill legalizing sports betting shortly after that, but online sports betting still remains elusive because of the aforementioned political opposition. Instead, Mississippi sports bettors must either travel to a physical casino or bet online using international gambling sites that are available to all American players.

What Is The Legal Sports Betting Age In Mississippi?

The legal Mississippi sports betting age is 21 years old. Sports betting in Mississippi is restricted to retail casinos with a licensed sportsbook, meaning that there are no online options based in the state. For players who are under 21 or don’t want to go to a casino just to bet on sports, global online sportsbooks accept players who are 18 years old.

Legal Sports Betting Sites For Mississippi Residents

All legal Mississippi sports betting sites are based in other countries. They must be because Mississippi has exhibited strong opposition to legalizing online gambling in the past. Thankfully, online sportsbooks are the best option for sports bettors anyway, as they offer faster payouts at higher payout rates, more events to bet on, and better bonuses to help players. Sportsbooks like MyBookie and Bovada accept Mississippi users and offer bets on all SEC basketball and football games.

BetOnline – A World Leader In Online Gambling

BetOnline offers numerous types of online gambling, including slots, table games, video poker, live dealer and more. BetOnline’s most famous and popular offer, however, is probably its sportsbook. The website offers numerous betting lines and props on everything from Russian junior league hockey to major entertainment awards shows to the NFL playoffs. Placing bets, whether a single bet or a parlay, only takes a few clicks, and BetOnline offers a variety of fast and easy banking options to make the process as streamlined as possible For Mississippi gamblers looking to stay home and avoid the hassle of casinos, BetOnline is one of the best options out there.

Bovada Sportsbook - Best For All Sports

Bovada is one of the best online sportsbooks, and they are labeled such for a variety of reasons. Bovada's first major selling point is the fact that they offer a deposit bonus that has a limit of $100 which is free. There is a 20% match rate in place with this promotion. Bovada has betting lines over a wide range of sports. Everything from professional sports to amateur sports from all over the world can be wagered on through Bovada's sportsbook. With their betting card as intuitive as it is, you should never have any issues getting in on the games.

Legal Mississippi Online Sportsbooks

What Is The Legal Poker Age In Mississippi?

Mississippi’s legal poker age is 21 years old. The only physical poker rooms in Mississippi are hosted at brick-and-mortar casinos, which don’t allow anyone under 21 in the door. For people who want to play online, global poker websites accept players who are 18 years old for all types of online poker. All they need to do is download the requisite software and show proof of ID.

Legal Poker Sites For Mississippi Residents

There are seven poker rooms in Mississippi, but no state-licensed online poker operators. Instead, Mississippi residents can play with international online poker websites like Bovada or Slots.lv. These sites offer easy banking, great customer service, unbeatable deposit and reload bonuses, and one of the best overall poker experiences in the world. Each website offers its own variety of poker types and has its own pros and cons, so it is worth trying more than one to see which you like best.

BetOnline Poker - Top Poker Site in Mississippi

Poker fans who want to get into real money games online can do so quite easily through BetOnline. BetOnline's poker room is one of the leading gambling sites online. They have a deposit bonus of up to $900, which will give you up to 25% more than your deposit was originally worth. As one of the most trusted online poker rooms, you never need to fear your account being compromised or your card draws being insufficiently random. We chose only BetOnline for our poker playing.

Legal Mississippi Poker Sites

What Is The Legal Gambling Age To Bet On Horses In Mississippi?

The legal gambling age to bet on horses online in Mississippi is 18 years old. There are no horse racing tracks in Mississippi or state-licensed off-track betting parlors. Mississippi residents instead must bet on horse racing online using global sportsbooks like Bovada. These sportsbooks offer a range of horse betting options on both local/regional races and global mega-events like the Dubai World Cup.

Horse Betting Sites For Mississippi Residents

A lack of legal in-state horse racing means that Mississippi residents can’t bet on horse racing through the popular domestic horse racing site TVG. International online sportsbooks still offer an extensive selection of horse betting options on a great number of different events. These global sportsbooks have offer deposit bonuses that can be worth well over a thousand dollars depending on the site and how much you deposit. They also boast fast, rewarding payouts.

How Old Do I Have To Be To Play The Lottery In Mississippi?

You must be 18 years old to play the lottery in Mississippi. There are 20 different scratch-off games in Mississippi, but the only draw games available are the Mega Millions and the Powerball. There are no online lottery options in the state, either domestic or international, so to purchase a lottery ticket players must go to a licensed retailer. Tickets are often sold by local markets and gas stations.

What Is The Legal Gambling Age For DFS In Mississippi?

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) are legal to all Mississippi players who are at least 21 years old. Originally, the DFS bill passed by the state Legislature only required players to be 18, but a written recommendation from the Mississippi Secretary of State increased that age to 21, to be in line with casino and sports betting. All major DFS operators are live and legal in Mississippi.

Online Bingo For Mississippi Residents

Bingo carries the youngest gambling age of all, providing players 18 years of age or older with the option to partake in the games. Bingo fans or just those looking for a little easy money will find that this game is readily available through a variety of different sites.

Vic's Bingo - Open To Mississippi Gamblers

Vic's Bingo is one of the few great online bingo halls. Playing bingo with their site will let you enjoy the games as if you were in a live bingo hall, all backed by the advantage of a special 150% match bonus. This bonus is capable of being used on your first two deposits, and there is no limit as to how much free money you can receive. If you like to play bingo, keep in mind that you will have a large assortment of cards and patterns available through Vic's if you are above the Mississippi legal gambling ages.

Mississippi’s relationship with legal real money poker and gambling dates back to the early days of the riverboat. One of the only pro-gambling states in the ultra-conservative Deep South, Mississippi or the Magnolia State as it’s sometimes known, and its more than two dozen casinos and live real cash poker betting rooms attract a wide variety of tourists and gambling enthusiasts, most of which reside in one of Mississippi’s more restrictive neighboring states.

Given Mississippi’s long-term affair with games of chance and real money poker games like Texas Hold’em poker, it stands to reason that the Magnolia State’s officials would actively explore the prospect of regulated lawful Internet poker on poker websites and other legit forms of real cash gambling. And while no firm legislation has been passed yet, Mississippi could very well become a hub for online poker players and real money Internet poker pros in the not too distant future.

If you’re in need of a real money US poker site, and wagering in The Birthplace of America’s Music, we’ve sourced sites that will gladly accept your wager.

Gambling Laws In Mississippi Counties

Mississippi iGaming: Past Headlines

In 2021, Mississippi state officials will once again weigh in on the prospect of regulated legal poker websites and iGaming ^[1]. This will mark the third consecutive year that the state government debates the merits and viability of real money Internet poker betting.

Quick Jump

• 5 The Facts

Leading the charge is MS state Rep. Bobby Moak, a Democrat from Bouge Chitto. Mr. Moak’s previous Internet poker efforts in 2012 and 2013 have failed to make it out of the committee, despite gaining some support from local casinos and real cash poker venues. His 2013 version of the Internet gambling bill called for a 5% tax on gross revenues generated through online operations like poker websites, but that would prove too little to garner much support from other MS politicians.

However, several key changes to the iGaming Internet poker landscape could propel the 2021 version of Moak’s lawful betting and gambling websites bill through the committee. Most notably, three states (New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware) have launched online gambling and real cash Internet poker operations, with New Jersey proving the viability of such a poker website market.

In other news, over the past 12 months, three of Mississippi’s underperforming brick and mortar poker betting rooms have been forced to shut down. Most notably, the Gold Strike casino’s 13 table real money poker room in MS dealt its last Texas Hold’em poker hand on January 14, 2014 ^[2]. The most likely reason for the shutdowns of legal real cash poker venues is the overabundance of live poker gambling rooms located throughout the state of Mississippi.

Latest Mississippi Poker News

Can Players From Mississippi Play Poker Online?

The only real money online poker websites available to players from Mississippi are sites that operate from outside MS and indeed outside the United States. Luckily, there are more than a few reliable offshore real cash poker websites happy to accept players from the Magnolia State looking for some Internet poker gambling action.

Due to MS state’s lenient gambling and poker betting stance and non-restrictive laws, signing up at a US-facing real money poker website has never been easier for Mississippi residents.

Is Online Poker Legal In Mississippi?

The problem with Mississippi’s gambling and betting statues, like so many other states, is that they’re antiquated and make no mention of online wagering or Internet poker. As such, the legality of online poker websites is left largely up to interpretation.

While it’s always best to seek the advice of an attorney before participating in any unregulated poker game, at Internet poker websites or otherwise, we’ve taken the liberty of dissecting Mississippi’s elongated list of gambling and betting statues into a few critical facts for anyone wanting to hit the Texas Hold’em real money Internet poker tables:

• Anyone who shall wager or bet, promote or encourage the wagering or betting of any real money or other valuable things, upon any game, is subject to a fine in a sum not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). If the fine is not immediately paid, the guilty party shall be imprisoned for any period not more than ninety (90) days. However, those gambling or betting at a licensed facility like a casino or real cash poker room in MS are exempt from the aforementioned law.
• Notice that the penalties for poker gambling and other real money betting are relatively minor in MS compared to those imposed by other Deep South states, many of which charge real money poker players with misdemeanors.
• A gambling game is defined as a banking or percentage game played with cards, with dice or with any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or anything of value. Section 75-76-5 ^[3] goes onto list real cash poker as a gambling game, despite the measure of skill required to succeed in poker gambling.
  In addition to the $500 fine, anyone caught gambling may be subject to pay the total sum of their real money poker winnings while engaged in the illegal act. Section 97-33-5
• Ownership of a gambling or betting device is classified as a misdemeanor and subject to a $500 fine and up to 3 months in a Mississippi prison. Subsequent violations of legal gambling laws in MS can result in increased prison time and fines. Section 97-33-7(3).

To read the entirety of Mississippi’s gambling and poker betting statues, please refer to the complete state code, listed in the “References” section ^[4].

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The Facts

The History of Gambling in Mississippi

Despite Mississippi’s long and storied gambling and real money poker history, chock full of legendary lore and iconic figures, the state only legalized land-based casinos and real cash poker venues less than a decade ago.

According to early gambling accounts, Native Americans local to the area enjoyed a game entitled Ishtaboli. Unlike real money poker but much like today’s sporting events, the outcome of Ishtaboli games was wagered upon by spectators betting by the sidelines. Except instead of real money, the tribesmen wagered their possessions. Many a Native American lost the totality of their belongings wagering and gambling on Ishtaboli.

Later on, the early European settlers would introduce real cash poker and other card variants to Mississippi. Given its location along the river sharing its namesake, legit gambling and betting soon became exceedingly popular on riverboats.

In 1795, the state’s first horseracing betting track was established – Fleetfield Race Track. However, since that time horseracing, as well as pari-mutuel betting, was made illegal.

In fact, by 1942 all forms of gambling and betting were prohibited, including real money poker games like Texas Hold’em poker. Unfortunately for law enforcement agencies, previously legal poker gambling was so engrained in Mississippians blood that real cash poker betting continued behind closed doors.

Finally, after nearly 50 years of gambling and poker betting being prohibited, the Mississippi Gaming Control Act legalized riverboat casinos and lawful poker gambling rooms operating on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen years later in 2005, the newly-minted Mississippi Gaming Commission legalized regulated land-based casinos and real cash poker card rooms. Thanks to these two historic changes, the Magnolia State now boasts over two dozen casinos and real money poker betting destinations.

Regulated Gambling Options in Mississippi

Surprisingly, besides commercial casinos and legal poker venues, Mississippi is rather lacking when it comes to regulated gambling and real money betting options. Charitable gambling is allowed, but only in the forms of bingo and raffles. Casino nights are prohibited, and Mississippi is one of only seven states not to boast a state lottery for gambling fans to win real cash on.

In addition, all types of social gaming, including home games of Texas Hold’em poker, are deemed illegal by Mississippi state law, even if no real money is wagered and no one is gambling their spare change. And while it’s unlikely that MS law authorities would actively raid home poker betting games, the possibility still exists and looms over poker gambling fans.

The Future of Regulated Online Gambling in Mississippi

Right now, Mississippi’s future, at least as far as iGaming and legit Internet poker is concerned, is highly uncertain. Multiple influencing factions are gravely opposed to online gambling in MS, so much so, that any Internet poker bill proposed by Mississippi State Rep. Moak may have trouble passing through the Ways and Means Committee of MS.

In fact, Moak’s prior two Internet poker website gambling bills met so much resistance from religious and ultra-conservative groups, that they were dismissed within two weeks. Further compounding matters, all attempts to legalize a statewide real money lottery have fallen on deaf ears.

However, there are some positive signs. The state boasts over $250 million in annual tax revenue from casino and real money poker gambling. In addition, the success of other iGaming and Internet poker markets, along with Florida’s possible entry into the real cash poker websites mix, could influence Mississippi lawmakers to take a second look at the issue of legal Internet poker gambling in MS. If anything, MS State Representative Richard Bennett has already made it abundantly clear that hearings and discussions on Internet gambling and betting on real money poker websites in Mississippi will make their way into the state’s 2014 legislative conferences.

Poker players in Mississippi certainly play online, but online poker is neither legal nor regulated in the state and, thus, playing is a tad risky.

Fun Fact

The Mississippi Straddle ^[5], unlike a normal real money poker straddle which must be placed under the gun, allows poker gambling players to straddle from any position, including the button. In the aforementioned case, the small blind would act first pre-flop and the button would be given last action on every street, granting him a huge strategic poker betting advantage.

The Bottom Line

Although Mississippi may one day regulate online gambling and real money Internet poker, the state of MS would be hard pressed to sustain a thriving online poker community of real money poker website players without some help. Whereas New Jersey, and its 9 million citizens, enjoy the advantage of being located next to two major cities (New York City and Philadelphia) to draw in the poker gambling crowds, Mississippi has no such luxury.

No, three million residents, many of them conservatives with no interest in gambling or real cash poker, will not be enough to keep an entire Internet poker gambling market in MS afloat. Therefore, without an interstate Internet poker compact with a neighboring state, poker websites wouldn’t be a part of a Mississippi iGaming real money Internet betting roll out. And unfortunately, the only relatively nearby state considering legalizing online gambling and real money Internet poker websites is not MS but Florida.

References

[1] ↑Mississippi to Hold Hearing on iGaming in 2014

[2] ↑Mississippi Poker Room Closing, Atlantic City Poker Room Coming Back

Mississippi Casino Rules

[3] ↑Mississippi Statues and Codes – 75-76-5 Definitions

[4] ↑Mississippi Code of 1972

Gambling Laws In Mississippi Casinos

[5] ↑Mississippi Straddle – Wikipedia

Can You Gamble Online In Mississippi

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