• • Year Mississippi Regulated Gambling: Casinos (1990), Bingo (1992)
  • Estimated Tax Revenue from Gambling: $140 million
  • Estimated Gambling Revenue: $2.1 billion
  • Mississippi Gambling Age: 18 for bingo, 21 for casinos

1. Is There Gambling In Mississippi

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). Gambling Age in Mississippi. Each state in the union is able to set its own minimum age for entering a land-based casino or gambling online when this is permitted by state law. In Mississippi, you must be 21 in order to enter a casino and place any bets, whether on the in-house games or via their internet portals. To drink alcohol, you must also be at least 21 years of age. 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.

1. 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.
2. The next regular meeting of the Mississippi Gaming Commission will be held on Thursday, March 18, 2021 beginning at 9:00 a.m. At the Jackson Office of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, 620 North Street, Suite 200, Jackson, MS 39202. The first session will be held for the purpose of discussing gaming.

• Smoking ban: Mississippi does not have a statewide smoking ban
• Mississippi Online gambling: All forms of online gambling are illegal in Mississippi.

Despite being a conservative state in the South, there are plenty of Mississippi casinos and gambling for players to enjoy. It has a history of being the main spot for gamblers in the region. This dates back to 1800’s when riverboat casinos would venture into the Mississippi River full of players. As the state developed, anti-gambling interests put an end to these types of excursions. Mississippi gambling went underground until the state legalized casino resorts in the 1990’s.

The only other form of legalized gambling beyond Mississippi casinos is charity bingo. There is no racing industry in the state. Mississippi is one of just six states in the country without a state lottery.

Paying Gambling Taxes in Mississippi

Have you won any money from gambling in the past year? Remember you have to report your winnings to the IRS. OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos has gathered everything you need to know about paying your taxes. Learn how to pay your gambling taxes with our exclusive Gambling Taxes Guide.

Mississippi Casinos Map & Guide

• Beau Rivage
• IP Casino
• Hard Rock
• Grand Casino
• Horseshoe

• Number of B&M Casinos: 28
• Number of Poker Rooms: 9
• Number of Indian Casinos: 3

Types of Mississippi Online Gambling Allowed

No forms of legal Mississippi online gambling in the state. The state does not have a racing industry so any off-track betting apps are illegal. There is no lottery to sell tickets over the Internet.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood declared daily fantasy sports sites to be illegal gambling. Sites like DraftKings and FanDuel remained in the state for a few weeks but left the market in February 2016.

Mississippi Rep. Bobby Moak introduced a bill that would have legalized online gambling in the state. His first attempt was in 2012. The bill is called the Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act. The bill would have allowed online casinos and poker games to be offered by licensed Mississippi casinos. The bill failed in 2012, as well as the following three years.

Types of Live Mississippi Gambling

• Slots: Yes
• Blackjack: Yes
• Poker: Yes
• Craps/Roulette: Yes
• Horses: No
• Lottery: No

There are only two types of legal Mississippi gambling. Charities may hold bingo games, sell raffle tickets and pull-tabs. This is as close to a lottery as it gets in Mississippi.

Mississippi casinos are legal in jurisdictions that vote to approve them through local referendums. Casinos in Mississippi must be on riverboats in the water with the exception of the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina changed how boats on the ocean operate after the entire industry was wiped out. Casinos on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi may be located within 800 feet of the water.

Mississippi casinos offer all the popular casino games one would find in a typical gaming jurisdiction. Craps, roulette, slots, video poker, live poker rooms, and house-banked card games are the common forms of gambling found in Mississippi casinos. Proprietary games like Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Mississippi Stud, and Caribbean Stud Poker are among the favorites of locals.

Mississippi Gambling Laws

Mississippi gambling laws prohibit almost all forms of gambling. If there is an element of chance, the game is likely illegal. Sports pools are not permitted, neither are many skill games that involve paying to play, unless exempted under the Mississippi casino or charity laws. Most gambling offenses are a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500 for the first offense. Subsequent offenses may become felonies.

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 18 years.

List of Mississippi Casinos

There are charities throughout the state that offers bingo and raffles. Any serious gambling must take place at any of the 28 Mississippi casinos located throughout the state. Use our interactive Mississippi casinos map, or the table below, to get the Mississippi casino locations.

History of Mississippi Gambling

While there is little in the way of gambling these days, that was not always the case. Horse racing was once legal in Mississippi before it became a state. The Fleetfield Race Track opened in Natchez in 1795. Gulf Coast and Mississippi River resorts offered gambling options in the 1800’s. This included riverboat excursions that today’s casinos attempt to mimic in some capacity.

This continued through the early and mid-1900’s. Broadwater Resort opened in 1938 as a legal casino along the Biloxi/Gulfport border. It catered to high rollers. Broadwater would later become President Casino when casinos became legal again before it went bankrupt. The boat and hotel were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Casinos were outlawed in the 1950’s after a movement from conservatives and representatives of Keesler Air Force Base lobbied to put an end to it. All that did was make gambling go underground. In 1969, Hurricane Camille destroyed the Gulf Coast and with it the illegal gambling industry.

Casino gambling was approved by voters in 1990 to help stimulate the depressed economies of the Gulf Coast and Tunica. Hancock and HamiltonCounty voters were the first to approve casinos at a local level. The first casinos returned to the Gulf Coast in 1992 after a 23-year absence. This time, they were fully licensed and legal.

The Gulf Coast is prone to hurricanes. Several storms battered the ships along U.S. 90 in Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis, causing damage to the properties. Some decided that insurance was no longer an option and took the chance a storm would not destroy the resorts.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed every oceanside casino except for the Imperial Palace, which was docked in the Back Bay. Lawmakers decided to permit ships to move to land for reconstruction. Casinos today must be within 800 feet of the shoreline. This does not apply to lakes and rivers in Mississippi. Those gaming establishments must remain on boats but are not required to leave the dock.

Mississippi does not have a statewide smoking ban. Mississippi casinos may allow smoking anywhere they wish. Palace Casino decided to break from this tradition in 2011 when it banned smoking in the entire casino. It was the first nonsmoking casino in the region to do so at the time. It was thought to be the only casino in the country that banned smoking when not forced to do so by state law. Palace Casino remains the only casino in Mississippi that bans smoking. Harrah’s New Orleans no longer permits smoking in its casino. This was not voluntary. It was forced to do so by the New Orleans City Council.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced in January 2016 that daily fantasy sports are illegal in the state. Hood noted at the time that “any person shall encourage promote or play at any game, play or amusement … for money or another valuable thing…” Skill is an irrelevant matter as it pertains to Mississippi law, according to Hood. Daily fantasy sports sites remained on the market for weeks after this decision. DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest companies in the industry, quietly left the state in February 2016.

Mississippi Casinos & Gambling FAQ

Mississippi is one of just six states that do not have a state lottery.

Horseracing is not legal in the state.

No, according to the state attorney general. Many sites ignored this opinion and continue to accept players from Mississippi. DraftKings and FanDuel left the market.

There is no statewide smoking ban in Mississippi for any business. Palace Casino voluntarily banned smoking in 2011.

Yes, there are currently 28 casinos in Mississippi.

The minimum Mississippi gambling age is 21 years for casino players and 18 years for charity gambling.

Is There Gambling In Mississippi

Slots, video poker, live poker, craps, roulette, blackjack, Mississippi Stud, Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Texas Hold’em Bonus, baccarat, and Pai Gow Poker are among the many games that are permitted in Mississippi casinos.