IGT Enters Mississippi Sports Betting Market
Global gaming technology and services provider International Game Technology (IGT) has entered the Mississippi sports betting market through a deal reached with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
In a press release issued last week, IGT announced it will be providing its services to three tribal casinos in Mississippi via its PlayDigital sports betting platform, PlayShot. The PlayShot platform will allow IGT’s new tribal clients to offer pre-game and in-play bets at the counter and through in-casino kiosks provided by IGT.
IGT will also be able to provide mobile sports betting should Mississippi gaming laws be expanded to allow mobile betting away from casino grounds. Currently, MS sports betting is restricted to in-person and electronic wagering provided patrons are located on casino property.
The three casinos that have signed on with IGT include:
- Golden Moon Hotel & Casino in Choctaw
- Silver Star Hotel & Casino in Choctaw
- Bok Homa Casino in Sandersville
Here’s IGT Senior VP PlayDigital from the press release:
“IGT’s leading entry into the tribal gaming sports betting space demonstrates how a wide variety of casino operators can benefit from our flexible, market-ready PlayShot sports betting solution, today.
“With IGT PlayDigital’s technology and expertise, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians introduced sports betting to players with confidence, knowing that PlayShot is already the trusted sports betting platform provider at more than 15 U.S. casinos across multiple states.”
The Choctaw Indians gain a powerful gaming ally in bringing IGT on board. IGT is a massive provider of sports betting, gaming and lottery solutions to operators and governments around the world. IGT employs more than 12,000 people and processed more than $12 billion worth of bets last year alone.
Mississippi legalized sports betting in 2017 contingent on the Supreme Court ending the federal sports betting prohibition (PASPA). PASPA was ruled unconstitutional in May of 2018 and Mississippi lawmakers worked quickly to have sports betting regulations written and approved by June.
The first Mississippi sportsbooks opened on August 1st when Beau Rivage in Biloxi and Gold Strike in Tunica unveiled their new sportsbooks and took their first wagers. Additional casinos followed suit with sportsbooks over their own in the ensuing weeks.
Earlier in September, the Mississippi Gaming Commission released the results of the state’s first full month of sports betting. In August, MS sportsbooks booked nearly $10 million in wagers. Overall, it was a positive outcome considering August tends to be a slow month in sports betting and Mississippi not being the biggest state population-wise.
The lack of mobile sports betting will put an upper limit on how much revenue MS sportsbooks can generate, but there is nothing in the law that says mobile betting must be outlawed. The regulations in place right now do not allow sports betting, but that could change in the future. As other states legalize mobile betting and MS sportsbooks get their footing, Gaming Commission officials could potentially change the regulations to allow mobile betting.
In the meantime, Mississippians have three new options for betting on sports. The three Choctaw casinos join a growing number of state casinos that are expanding to offer sports betting.
Mike Murphy is the founder of BettingUSA.com and has over 10 years of experience in the legal gambling industry. A regular attendee of industry trade shows and conferences, Mike is a strong proponent in the idea of a well regulated online betting industry.
