Mississippi gambling market Q1

‘Mississippi Sees 50.5m dollars in wagers as the sports market fluctuates, while online sports betting and casinos remain a major talking point!’ (Photo by Benoit Dare on Unsplash)

After an abysmal February 2021, March was a brighter month after Mississippi sees 50.5m dollars in wagers roll in putting the previous ‘bad’ month behind it.

The rise was a confounding 372% from the month before when issues with the way the state punted out its sports betting markets for odds was criticized when February’s results came out—yet in all honesty, there were not enough US markets to place bets on as it was admittedly a quiet month with just $10.7 million in wagers running through the book while March saw $50.5 million in wagers! Comparable to January 2021, this was a 5.7% increase on that month’s $47.8 million in wagers.

That means for Q1 of 2021, Mississippi sports wagering came a total of $109 million. As for the revenues taken in by sportsbooks in the Magnolia State, as in profits before tax and other expenses, the total amount came to $5.2m while the same time last year industry revenues were a mere $649k which came out of $10.7 million worth of wagers.

However, currently, the Mississippi sports betting market is limited to retail betting shops via PointsBet while there are numerous land-based casinos in central Mississippi and border state casinos that cater for Louisiana and Alabama clientele to the West and East, respectively! These casinos are also part of the retail sports betting figures outlines in this news report!

Sports betting in Mississippi is on the rise with a 707.4% year-on-year increase recorded for March 2021 and should PointsBet partner up with Penn International to bring online sports betting to the state, further revenue hikes are likely!

Calls for Online Casinos To Open In Mississippi Stronger Than Ever

There is still a call for online casinos to open in the state, which would cushion any further land-based disruptions in an unpredictable world with the pandemic labelled by some as just the beginning. It is anyone’s guess if another virus comes flying in and Mississippi legislators want to see a similar setup as other states whereby the land-based casinos work with online brands to bring virtual slots and table games online. Also, the impressive tax revenues reported by other states are not to be sniffed at!

Last month the Mississippi land-based casino industry was on its knees and over the course of March further closures disrupted what was supposed to be the revival of the industry as it reopened!

Mississippi Sports Books Missed in February

Last month the Mississippi land-based casino industry was on its knees and over the course of March further closures disrupted what was supposed to be the revival of the industry as it reopened.

While many had high hopes for the Super Bowl, it just wasn’t enough to carry Mississippi Sports Books across the finish line last month. With just one NFL game for punters to bet on in February, taxable revenue fell to $4.2 million from a January record of $9.1million, almost a 50% decline!

With all the college football Bowl Games concluded and the NFL regular season a thing of the past, Basketball was left to fill the gap after the big Super Bowl LV finale in the first weekend of February, but it wasn’t a slam dunk. Total wagering came in at just under $30 million, down from $48 million the month prior, a 30% reduction in overall betting.

While February 2021 was a tough sledge in comparison to January numbers, a more apple to apple comparison against February 2020 showed room for a bit more optimism.

Taxable revenue numbers in that month were only $2.1, so this year was up over 116%. Total Sports bet wagering in Janaury of last year totalled a little over $37 million, so this year’s total of $48 million shows a rapidly growing market.

Louisiana and Alabama Border State Sports Betting

Mississippi is in the enviable position of having only one border state allowing Sports Betting and can count on the flow of bettors from Louisiana and Alabama to flock to its in-person only sportsbooks. But Tennessee kicked off mobile sports betting in November 2020. It has already decimated the Mississippi sports books in Tunica, just south of Memphis.

Tennessee’s online sports betting platforms pulled in total wagers of $176 million and revenue of $13 million in February. This bodes ill for Mississippi’s currently booming Sports Books in the Biloxi region eventually, because Louisiana has passed online and mobile sports betting and is likely to be up and running before the end of the year, and Florida, which would siphon off much of Mississippi’s Alabama sports base, is further along in negotiations for mobile sports betting than ever before.

Mississippi had several opportunities to advance mobile sports betting this year, but so far has dropped the ball on the issue. So, while Q1 numbers certainly pointed to steady growth in the in-person land-based sports betting that has driven Mississippi to over a billion dollars wagered in the past 18 months, there are storm clouds brewing on the horizon in all directions!

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