Mississippi Sees $56.2 Million October Betting Handle

While the summer months generally see lower numbers in terms of sports betting, the start of the football season always brings in some big bets. This bounceback is generally seen when you look at the betting handle for September and October.

The state of Mississippi saw more bets coming in for the fall this year, although the yearly numbers saw quite a dip between 2021 and 2022. Let’s take a deeper look at the Mississippi sports betting handle from October and take a deeper look at the state’s sports betting industry.

State Of Mississippi Brings In $56.2 Million In October Sports Bets

Mississippi sports betting might not be the biggest market in the industry, but the state still saw some decent numbers in October of 2022. Sports bettors in the Magnolia State placed $56.2 million in wagers throughout the month of October. This is an increase over September of 2022, in which the state’s sports betting handle totaled $43.1 million, representing a 30.4% jump from September to October.

Revenue for Mississippi sports betting operators dipped in October after bettors saw some big wins, with $7.7 million in total revenue. While the monthly handle grew between September and October of 2022, the year over year numbers are a bit more disappointing. In October 2021, sports bettors in the state wagered a total of $83.5 million, 32.7% more than October of 2022.

What Casinos Saw The Biggest Betting Handle?

With Mississippi casinos bringing in an increased October number, which casinos saw the most wagers? According to Gambling News, the state’s coastal casinos were the big winners throughout the month with a handle of $35.8 million. This outshined the central casinos in Mississippi, which saw a total number of $11.8 million. Some of the most popular coastal casinos in the state include Island View Casino Resort, Golden Nugget Biloxi Hotel & Casino, IP Casino Resort Spa, and Harrah’s Gulf Coast.

The state’s central-located casinos include Magnolia Bluffs Casino, Gold Strike Casino Resort, Horseshoe Tunica, and Pearl River Resort. The coastal casinos also brought in a larger revenue number with $3.9 million throughout October.

Is Online Sports Betting Available In Mississippi?

So if casinos dominated the Mississippi sports betting handle throughout October, that must mean there’s no online betting available, right? Well, it’s complicated. You can technically place mobile bets in the state of Mississippi, but the laws state that you need to be located at a casino to place wagers on sporting events. This means that if you’re not on casino grounds, you can’t place any wagers from your smartphone or tablet. Although there have been attempts to get online betting rolling statewide, a 2019 endeavor didn’t gain the momentum needed.

If some newer markets end up seeing major success, such as the upcoming launch of mobile Maryland sports betting, it’ll be interesting to see if there are more attempts to expand online betting in Mississippi. In the meantime, anyone that’s 21 years of age or older (the legal betting age in the state) can bet on sports at local casino properties.