This last year, Mississippi has seen as significant decrease in gambling revenue. Correspondingly, that translates to a significant decrease in revenue for the state government.
As more casinos close (the most recent being Harrah’s), the state is finally ready to look at online gambling, but some are concerned that the study is not being conducted properly, and that the results will be skewed when they are released.
First of all, the representative who has ordered the study has been vocal about his opposition to online gambling in the past. While most people who choose a range of legislators to govern the study, a single person, from the Mississippi Gaming Commission has been chosen. Allen Godfrey, that man appointed to head the study, has always had a “wait and see” take on the prospect of online gambling.
Representative Bobby Moak, a Democrat, says: “The study’s being conducted in a way that we really haven’t seen before,” but continued, “At least I’m glad that someone is stepping back and taking a look at it.”
In general, most people assume that the best people to make a study of something are those who will be writing the laws, not those who will be imposing the regulations.
Moak says, “I’m not saying iGaming stops Harrah’s from closing, but it sure would be another tool in the box that helps them stay. It really does bring to light that Mississippi has to do more for the industry that it brought into this state in the early and mid-90s. This is something else that should wake us up to say we should do something to help this industry.”
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