'It's sad': La. lawmaker says Mississippi will steal sports betting revenue
(WAFB) - There's a new reason to make the short drive to Mississippi. The Magnolia State officially approved sports betting Thursday, and casinos can't wait to pull customers from Louisiana just in time for football season.
"We're excited about the type of customer that this is going to attract to the state of Mississippi," said Jonathan Jones, general manager of Harrah's Gulf Coast. "Folks will come in and they'll enjoy watching sports, and sports is a big part of the culture here in the south. We're also excited about what it means for our hotel business, our restaurant business, and our other gaming businesses as well."
The Mississippi Gaming Commission unanimously adopted the regulations Thursday, which will take effect in 30 days. All bets must be placed inside a casino or on their property. Bets on mobile devices will be allowed as long as they're done at the casino. Bets can be placed on college and professional teams, along with horse and greyhound racing and the Olympics.
"Now we've got it regulated, and now the state is going to get some revenue from it," said Mississippi Gaming Commission Chair Al Hopkins.
It's revenue that one Louisiana senator says should be staying local. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, introduced the bill last month. It was voted down over concerns about expanding gambling in the state. He says Louisiana will now lose money.
"It's sad. We're going to lose a lot of the gaming people who maybe never had any intention of playing craps or playing video machines, but would like to go sit in a sports book," Martiny said. "So I think Beau Rivage and the Silver Slipper and the other casinos over in the Biloxi area are going to feast on this."
Governor John Bel Edwards has said he's open to the idea, but he wanted more time to review sports betting proposals. Martiny hopes lawmakers will change their minds once they see other states benefiting.
"I'm going to file the bill next year," he said. "I think we need to do it, if nothing else, to ward off people coming in and cherry picking our people, and these are people who are going to gamble no matter what."
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