The Mississippi House voted Wednesday to legslize online sports betting in Mississippi.

Proponents say this could generate tens of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue, but critics warn it would fuel gambling addiction and hurt brick-and-mortar casinos.

The approval of HB 1581 sets the House up for another showdown with the Senate, where legislation to legalize online betting has died amid opposition from the casino industry and concerns over gambling addiction.

The measure is mostly the same as one the House passed last year, but an amendment introduced on the House floor before the bill passed Wednesday, with an 85-31 vote, marks a significant change. The amendment would require Mississippi to eventually make a one-time $600 million transfer from its Capital Expense Fund to help shore up the state’s pension system.

In remarks on the House floor, Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, a Republican from Saucier who authored the bill, said Mississippians have attempted to place around 10 million online sports wagers in Mississippi since September of 2025. Of those, he said, 81,000 traveled to other states to bet. These figures show that Mississippi is missing out on between $40 million and $80 million a year in taxes as a black market continues to thrive, he said.

“These are Mississippi residents crossing into other states, and the outcome of that is that Mississippi receives zero tax revenue, there’s zero oversight, zero consumer protection against these people placing bets, and problem gambling goes undetected and unmanaged,” Eure said.