The Mississippi Gaming Commission said the state generated $44.5 million in sports betting handle in March, with taxable revenue of $3.3 million, down 32 percent from the $4.9 million reported last March.
The MGC report said the Coastal Region of the state reported the highest revenue of $1.8 million, followed by Central Mississippi, which reported just more than $1 million in taxable revenue and the Northern Region with about $468,000.
The Magnolia State saw a 4.6 percent decrease in total handle compared to March 2023’s total of $46.6 million. Coastal Mississippi brought in the highest handle of $30.1 million, while Central Mississippi collected an $8.8 million handle and $5.5 million in Northern Mississippi.
The MGC also reported that basketball was the most popular sport by handle in all three regions. However, Northern Mississippi was the only region that collected the highest revenue from basketball, and it was parlay cards that brought in the most revenue for the Coastal and Central Regions.
Coastal Mississippi saw the highest total spend on basketball, with bets reaching $20.2 million, followed by parlay cards with $3.9 million. In the Central Region, basketball bets totaled $4.4 million, and parlay cards were second with $3.9 million. Basketball bets in Northern Mississippi totaled $3.7 million, again followed by parlay card bets, which yielded more than $1.2 million.
This month, the Senate Gaming Committee approved HB 774, which would legalize online sports betting, but, it awaits further discussion.