Page 6 - MGHA Annual Report, 2025

After a thorough dive into Mississippi’s 2024 milestones, we’ve listed the highlights below.
Dead, Dead, Dead Again
The Mississippi Legislature once again considered legislation to authorize mobile and internet sports wagering in the state, and once more, the measure failed to garner the necessary support. The Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act passed the House 97–14 but died in conference. The act would have made it legal to wager on sports on mobile phones and through the internet, with the condition that mobile operators had to partner with brick-and-mortar casinos licensed in the state. Advocates will likely renew their attempt to pass legislation in the 2025 session.
Jackson Jackpot Dream
While a bill to permit a single casino location in Jackson died in the 2024 session of the Mississippi Legislature, a more organized effort to pass such legislation may take place in the 2025 session. In December 2024, former Gov. Haley Barbour and a group of business leaders laid out to legislators plans to use a casino in downtown Jackson to help revitalize the capital city.
Groceries, Gas, and Gambling
In December, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians opened Crystal Sky, an 18,000-square-foot, $25 million entertainment venue featuring a casino with 150 slot machines, a sportsbook lounge, a 60-seat restaurant, 3,000 square feet of retail space, and refueling stations in Louisville, Mississippi.
Don’t Click That Link!
More businesses are targets of ransomware and other cyberattacks launched by criminal elements, and the gaming industry is not immune. During 2024 at least two gaming companies with operations in Mississippi were the subject of such attacks, shuttering operations for days and weeks while IT functions were restored.
Biloxi Sand Beach Blues
During 2024, multiple applications for approval of gaming sites in Biloxi involved controversial locations, raising the issue of whether casinos may locate inland adjacent to the public sand beach. After Gaming Commission approval of two of the sites, appeals of those decisions will place the issue before the courts to resolve.
Roll (Dice) Tide?
Mississippi casinos anxiously monitored the introduction and ultimate demise of comprehensive legislation in Alabama to authorize a limited number of casinos, statewide sports wagering, and a state lottery. While the effort cratered when a key sponsor voted against the bill, the prospects for a new bill in 2025 are already being debated.
Like Father, Like Son
The Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association named Bill and Tom Gresham, the first father and son to serve on the Mississippi Gaming Commission, as honorees in the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame. Joining the Greshams in the Hall of Fame were Tim Hinkley, a Mississippi gaming pioneer with the Isle of Capri, and Jon Lucas, former general manager of the IP Casino Resort Spa.
Hanging in There
Despite increased competition from the neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida, the Mississippi gaming industry continued to show resilience. Mississippi’s 2024 gross gaming revenues were on track to reach at least $2.4 billion for the fifth year in a row.
Jones Walker LLP’s gaming law practice, the largest in the southeastern United States, provides full-spectrum legal counsel to clients on gaming law. They represent all participants in the industry, including casinos, tribes, product manufacturers and suppliers, pari-mutuels, lottery vendors, sweepstakes and charities. They also represent other parties — such as investors, lenders and vendors — that have gaming-related interests. Visit joneswalker.com for more information. For more information, please contact Thomas B. Shepherd III.
MILESTONES
& HIGHLIGHTS 2024
6.
STATE
OF THE INDUSTRY ANNUAL REPORT