In an obvious shot at the Senate and at least part of the casino lobby for the state not legalizing online gambling, the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday approved a tax increase on casinos.
Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said his bill, which would increase taxes on Mississippi casinos from 12% to 16%, is to recoup the tens of millions of dollars a year Mississippi is “losing” from not legalizing online betting. He said, “if everybody’s honest with themselves, online sports betting is already going on” illegally, but the state is not generating any taxes from it.
He said his bill, which now heads to the full House, is also aimed at shedding light on why the online betting bills the House has passed in recent years die in the Senate.
