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00:02 Vermont beating Mississippi for the finish line
00:05 on online sports gaming.
00:06 How did this possibly happen, if indeed this is the case?
00:09 I know basically our story we're going to talk about
00:11 is the fact that Mississippi is about to launch online.
00:14 But we've been saying that for a while here now.
00:16 And you think this is legit?
00:18 You think next month they do it?
00:21 This is wholly up in the air.
00:23 I mean, this committee has been meeting this fall.
00:26 Their study is due this month.
00:28 And it's going to inform a bill to get
00:32 across the line in Mississippi.
00:33 I've talked to multiple sources across the industry.
00:37 And they've given me some pretty good prognostications
00:42 that Mississippi and Minnesota could get it done this year.
00:45 I know you talk often about my previews that come out
00:48 at the end of the year.
00:49 Those will be coming out shortly.
00:51 But that's a little preview, is those two
00:53 are the most likely to get it done this session.
00:56 Of course, Mississippi already has retail sports betting.
00:59 And online in the casinos is allowed as well,
01:03 but not statewide.
01:04 And so this study group is kind of figuring out
01:07 all the intricacies.
01:09 We know the independent casino owners down there
01:12 are not happy with it.
01:13 They do not want to see the market dominated
01:16 by the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings.
01:18 So there's a potential chance you see something
01:20 like in Arkansas, where 51% of the revenue
01:23 has to stay in Mississippi, which is why no big operators
01:26 are in Arkansas.
01:27 So that could be something you see in Mississippi.
01:31 But like I said, sources have said
01:34 Mississippi is one of two states that is not very likely,
01:38 but the most likely to get it done.
01:41 We'll see.
01:42 I mean, as you know, after the last couple of years,
01:46 these legislators--
01:48 sometimes things pop up that get in the way,
01:50 and you can't get it done.
01:52 And in the South, which we're going
01:54 to be paying a lot of attention to this year, between
01:56 Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina,
02:00 all these states kind of have that risk of any one thing that
02:06 pops up along the way could just completely derail a sports
02:09 betting bill.
02:11 You know, it could just--
02:13 a lot of times in Georgia, it's not even sports betting
02:15 related that gets in the way.
02:16 So yeah, Mississippi could get it done.
02:20 But yeah, Vermont's-- yeah, Vermont
02:23 got it done way ahead of time, way ahead of them.
02:25 And that's how it is.
02:28 (upbeat music)
02:31 (bells chiming)
