Best Mississippi Gambling Sites in 2024
Betting fans in The Magnolia State can now place a bet using one of the latest Mississippi Sports Betting Apps.
Mississippi was among the first batch of states to launch legal sports betting following the repeal of PASPA. Today, US sports betting is growing from strength to strength as mobile betting launches in numerous states allowing bettors to bet on sports on the go. Mississippi and a couple of other states pre-authorized sports betting before the PASPA decision, a wise move in hindsight. This meant Mississippi sports betting could be rolled out quickly after New Jersey won its case.
To participate in legal Mississippi sports betting, you must be at least 21 years of age, and all wagers must be placed in person at licensed sportsbooks. Currently, state law means that mobile sports betting is only permitted if guests place bets from their mobile devices while physically located at a casino property. However, online sports betting in Mississippi could soon be available statewide.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Mississippi betting apps available in the state.
Is Sports Betting Legal in Mississippi?
Yes, sports betting is now legal in Mississippi although MS online sports betting hasn’t really got off the ground yet. The Mississippi Gaming Commission is responsible for everything revolving around online sports betting in the state. The body has been ordered to regulate sports betting, so players are protected while placing any type of sports bet. The Mississippi Gaming Commission decided in 2018 that all forms of gambling are legal in this state, but there is a caveat. Bettors can only place sports wagers in brick-and-mortar casinos that carry a valid license.
Consequently, Mississippi sports betting can only be done in person. Mississippi sports betting online is not yet legal, with any form of remote betting not allowed. You can load up the BetMGM app online, but you must sign-up and bet in person at an MGM Resorts casino in Mississippi. You will have the full range of betting app features at your disposal. However, you won’t be able to place any sports wagers outside of the casino’s premises.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Mississippi?
Additionally, the Mississippi sports betting law has also decriminalized online betting. Because it is no longer a crime to gamble online, many players have decided to use offshore sportsbooks. These sportsbooks offer mobile sports wagering but come at a cost. If you use an offshore unregulated sportsbook, you won’t be protected as these illegal venues do not adhere to Mississippi gambling regulations. This means that your information is not protected, and you could lose all of your money as a lot of these offshore sportsbooks turn out to be scammers.
It is much safer and more sensible to wait until licensed sports betting apps in Mississippi go live. Additionally, offshore sportsbooks will take much-needed revenue away from the state, and it is likely MS will try to legalize online sports wagering with full statewide access soon.
Best Mississippi Betting Apps Reviewed
As we’ve explained above, legal online sports betting in the state is only available in an extremely restricted form, meaning you can use Mississippi sports betting apps only while you’re physically located in a state-approved sportsbook. The way this is enforced is through sportsbook geolocation services which can see precisely whether you’re in the appropriate venue or not.
At the moment, there’s really only one real Mississippi online sports betting app to speak of, and that’s BetMGM. When sports betting in Mississippi gets on the same level as neighboring states, and using an online betting app becomes less restrictive, we’ll add more operators to our list. For the moment, though, the lone sports betting site offers numerous betting markets, bet types and bonuses to keep MS bettors happy.
BetMGM App Mississippi
BetMGM is the retail sports betting arm of the world-renowned MGM betting brand. This means anyone looking forward to retail sports betting can get access to the BetMGM platform. Anybody who accesses the BetMGM app will discover a detailed menu with plenty of sports, promotions, and features when you bet in person using the app at local casinos. As we’ve mentioned, BetMGM is currently the only legal Mississippi betting app operating within the state.
Please note that MS users of the BetMGM app can register from anywhere in the state but must complete a KYC process and place their bets in person in one of the casinos in the state. The Beau Rivage casino resort has a retail sportsbook and will allow bettors to use the BetMGM sportsbook app on-site. You can use bonus bets, or any other bonuses while playing in person.
BetMGM Mississippi offers several sports betting promos through its sports betting app. The welcome bonus is a Second Chance First Bet which insures your first wager up to $1,000 if you end up losing. This means that BetMGM will refund the stake of your initial losing bet up to $1,000, which will be paid out in bonus bets. No promo code is needed.
Furthermore, you can make use of other promotions such as the BetMGM referral bonus and other seasonal and sports-specific bonuses.
Why use a betting app at all if you have to be physically located at the casino resort?
While you can place bets by filling out a betting slip at the counter over at Beau Rivage, you’d be missing out on all the great features BetMGM’s Mississippi sports betting app brings such as the welcome bonus. Furthermore, most users find it easier to place bets and check out odds and available matches on the app than doing it by hand.
Betting Apps in Mississippi
At the moment, there are over 20 casinos in Mississippi that operate retail sportsbooks within their properties. Some of these casinos allow players to bet online using Mississippi betting apps, but only when they are physically in the casino.
Regarding mobile and online betting, the hope is that Mississippi will make it legal in the upcoming session. If and when that happens, bettors will be permitted to use Mississippi betting apps on their mobile devices from anywhere in the state rather than only in Mississippi casinos.
When Mississippi sets to legalize sports betting in its traditional online form, users will get several benefits, including:
- Registration through iOS or Android devices
- Choice of numerous welcome bonuses
- Deposits & withdrawals via their smartphones/tablets
- Placing live bets
- Having online support at their fingertips
When Mississippi online sportsbooks and apps become legal, it is likely that players will be asked to confirm their age. Across the US, betting is allowed only for those over 21. In order to use Mississippi betting apps, bettors must verify their age in person.
Well-known sportsbooks such as Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, and FanDuel are already present throughout the state, but due to the state regulations surrounding online sports betting they’re yet to push out their sports betting apps. If regulations do change, however, these will probably be the first Mississippi sportsbooks to offer mobile sports betting next to BetMGM.
Mississippi Retail Sportsbooks
There are 29 physical casinos in Mississippi. Most are located in the Gulf Coast region. The other bunch of casinos are along the Mississippi River. MS is another southern state that only offers legal sports betting via retail sportsbooks located in casino properties.
The Magnolia State was one of the first to launch sports betting outside of Nevada. However, it has remained firm in its policy to only offer wagering through retail sportsbooks in casino properties. The Mississippi Gaming Control Act means Legal sportsbooks in Mississippi are all located in casinos.
The Mississippi casinos and their sports betting partners include:
- Beau Rivage – BetMGM
- Grand Sierra – Caesars Sportsbook
- Gold Strike Casino Resort – BetMGM
- IP Casino – B Connected
- Boomtown Casino – Penn National
- Golden Moon – PRR Sports
- Golden Nugget – Golden Nugget
- Hollywood Casino – Penn National
- Secret Pearl – DraftKings Sportsbook
- Silver Star – PRR Sports
Neighboring states like Louisiana have a thriving online sports betting industry with sites such as Caesars sportsbook proving a big hit. It is up to lawmakers to decide if they want to introduce Mississippi sports betting sites so they don’t fall further behind.
Legal Gambling in Mississippi
Aside from the betting on the BetMGM app, Mississippi has a number of legal wagering options. The 29 land-based casinos in the state all provide what you would expect – poker, slots and table games although the amount of games offered will vary depending on which casino you visit.
Dog and horse racing betting is also legal in the state, although there are no dog tracks or horse racing tracks that operate within the state border. Pari-mutuel wagering is also permitted at all licensed casino sportsbooks. If you want to play some draw-style games or scratchers, you can access these as they are run by the Mississippi Lottery Corp with National Lottery games such as Powerball also available.
Mississippi Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports sites are legal in MS and overseen by the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Fantasy operators that provide services for over 100 members of the public in a single calendar year must obtain a license from the MGC. This process involves passing an investigation and submitting it to annual compliance audits.
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is a new format available to bet on significant sports teams and players in Mississippi. People can test their knowledge playing DFS on multiple events such as NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL PGA, MLS, and more.
- DraftKings DFS
- FanDuel DFS
- Monkey Knife Fight
The two sites above offer comprehensive fantasy sports contests for anyone who is willing to put their knowledge to the test.
Types of Bets on Mississippi Betting Apps
Once online bookmakers go live in MS, there will be numerous types of bets that you place. Some of these include:
- Moneyline
- Point Spread
- Over/Under
- Parlays
- Futures
- Prop Bets
The Mississippi betting legal acts permit players to bet real money on any kind of wager offered by the sportsbook. Whilst online casinos are not legal in the state, players can play on the growing number of sweepstake casino apps and sweeps cash casino sites that are becoming more widely available.
Players can choose from a range of markets such as the number of points, handicap, player markets, match winner, etc. Live betting is also another exciting option if the sportsbook provides it. This allows players to bet on the action after it has already begun. The odds will change to reflect what is happening in real-time, and it adds another layer of excitement to the wagering experience.
Mississippi Sports Betting Apps Bonuses
Bonuses available when sports betting in Mississippi don’t differ much from the usual sports betting promotions you come across anywhere else in the US. These are mostly either deposit match bonuses or bonus bets.
Mobile Sports Betting Deposit Bonus
The most common type of promotion an online sportsbook offers is the deposit match bonus. With this bonus, the betting venue will match your initial deposit by a certain percentage, usually between 50% and 100%, up to a certain cap.
These bonus funds are not withdrawable. Instead, they usually come in the form of bonus bets which you can use to place legal sports wagers in the venue. Any winnings you make via bonus online bets are withdrawable as if you placed the wager with your own money.
Second Chance Bonus Bet
The Second Chance promotion, also referred to as No Sweat First Bet and First Bet Insurance serves to insure your first online wager, up to a certain cap. This means that in case your first bet loses, you’ll be refunded the initial stake up to the aforementioned cap. That way, the online sportsbook lets you place your first bet stress-free, knowing that your money will be returned in case you lose.
An important thing to note is that these refunds are also given as bonus bets, meaning they’re not immediately withdrawable but that you can use them to place wagers.
Mississippi Sports Teams to Bet On
Although there are no major sports teams in the state, Mississippi is home to a large number of college teams. Names such as the Mississippi Rebels from Ole Miss, Jackson State Tigers, and Mississippi State Bulldogs are huge in the college sporting world.
Apart from betting on college sports, players can also bet on any other NCAA team. As sports gambling grows in MS, it will also be possible to wager on all of the significant leagues in the United States like the NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and UFC.
Additionally, you can bet on events from around the world, such as European soccer leagues like the English Premier League and LaLiga in Spain.