Mississippi in the News — Weekly Round-up for June 29, 2018

Mississippi Good To Go On Sports Wagering

Regulations presently cover land wagering only at state licensed operators

The Mississippi Gaming Commission approved the state’s sports betting regulations Thursday, setting in motion a 30-day implementation window that will ultimately allow the state’s 28 land venues to offer sports betting by the third week in July.

The regulations at present cover only land-based wagering, with some on-premises mobile wagering permitted, and operators will be required to pay a reasonable 12 percent state tax based on GGR..

Interestingly, the regulator has not included mandatory “integrity fees” despite sports leagues lobbying for such largesse.

Punters will also be permitted to place bets on college sports, a departure from similar regulations in use in New Jersey and Delaware.

SG Digital Completes Mississippi Pre-Compliance Testing

Successful first step in compliance suitability of the Openbet platform

Scientific Games Corporation’s SG Digital division has successfully completed pre-compliance testing of its OpenBet™ Sportsbook Retail Platform against the “GLI-33: Event Wagering Systems” draft standard and Mississippi Gaming Commission’s proposed sports and race pool regulation.

The First Pass Pre-Compliance Evaluation confirmed that SG Digital’s retail point-of-sale terminal and administrative backend systems that support OpenBet operate in line with the proposed regulatory expectations of GLI, the company said, setting the stage for a full review of the OpenBet functionality.

“The evaluation of the SG Digital OpenBet platform against GLI-33 by GLI provides SG Digital, regulators, and its customers independent evaluation to its suitability,” Ian Hughes, GLI’s Vice President of Global Services, said.

Keith O’Loughlin, SVP Sportsbook at SG Digital, added: “As legalized sports betting spreads across the states, we’re taking every step to provide a seamless transition for our partners. Speed is of the essence, and this pre-compliance review positions us as a partner of choice for operators seeking industry-leading turnkey sportsbook solutions across land-based, online and mobile channels.”