The subject of daily fantasy sports in the USA is a complicated one. While some states have passed legislation formally legalizing DFS, and nine have passed laws outlawing it entirely (Arizona, Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington), many US states have yet to decide one way or the other. Numerous states are in a kind of gray area, where DFS has not been ruled on one way or the other by the Senate.

Fortunately, Mississippi has made its feelings on the subject a bit clearer. Mississippi was the fourth state to formally legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports, so it is entirely legal in this state.

Todd Winkler, Editor at online-gambling.com

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Todd Winkler has been an editor at online-gambling.com for 6 years. His focus is on guides and articles about poker games, blackjack, and DFS. With relatives in New Zealand, he is also well aware of the gambling industry in the country.

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Online Daily Fantasy Sports in Mississippi – Overview

Although many states have yet to make a definitive decision on daily fantasy sports, Mississippi has made it clear where it stands – eventually. Mississippi daily fantasy sports were officially legalized in 2016, but only on a temporary basis with the law expiring in July 2017. The temporary ruling was intended to give the newly established Fantasy Contest Task Force time to propose comprehensive guidelines for better regulations in the future.

In March 2017, Mississippi daily fantasy sports were made explicitly legal again by Governor Phil Bryant, this time without any time constraints. A primary reason for legalizing DFS was to generate income by taxing operators. 8% of all revenue goes back to the state, which is a pretty big incentive! Operators must also pay a licensing fee of $5,000 for every three years of operation in the state.

There was some debate in 2016 regarding the legality of DFS, as the Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement saying that he believed DFS to be illegal: “Fantasy sports wagering is illegal in the state of Mississippi under current law both on a licensed gaming floor and outside of a licensed gaming floor. Any change to the law would be a matter within the purview of the Legislature.” Obviously, that has now been cleared up by the legislation which has been introduced since then.

Online Daily Fantasy NFL – Top Dogs

The NFL is the most popular fantasy league. To enter a competition – private or public – you must choose nine players for your fantasy team. Your players must all be on the active roster for the NFL, and each will be assigned a salary. You must not spend more than $50,000 on salaries when creating your team. Your lineup may be edited at any time leading up to the games, but each individual player will become locked in place at the scheduled start time of their team’s game. Although Mississippi does not have a team in the NFL, the state still contributes to the league. This year, five players from the Mississippi State Bulldogs football program at Mississippi State University (MSST) were drafter into the NFL.

Online Daily Fantasy NHL – Bragging Rights

Fantasy NHL is not as popular as the other big American sports, but that is no reason not to get involved. Draft nine players (two centers, three wingers, two defensemen, one goalie, and one utility spot) while keeping within the salary cap. As with the NFL, you can change your players up until the scheduled start time of their team’s game, then your choices are locked in place. Mississippi does not have a team in the NHL and has produced just seventeen NHL players. However, they are still given bragging rights in this league as they did produce Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders legend Pat Lefontaine. Despite his relatively short career (865 games), Lafontaine finished with 1,013 career points. To put that in perspective, the next most point scored is 360, by Paul Ranheim.

Online Daily Fantasy MLB – Producing Stars

If you want to play fantasy MLB, you must draft ten players into your team. Your lineup cannot have more than five hitters from any one team in it. You should also be aware that hitting statistics for pitchers will not be counted and pitching statistics for hitters will not be counted. Mississippi doesn’t have teams in any of the big sports, but, as we are seeing, it still produces great athletes. Looking back over the baseball players to come out of this state, there are some real stars. Roy Oswalt had back to back 20-win seasons in 2004 and 2005, and made three all-star teams, finishing his twelve-year career with 1,852 strike outs. George Scott is also from Mississippi and was one of the great power hitters. He hit over twenty homers in six of his fourteen major league seasons!

Online Daily Fantasy NBA – Out of State

A fantasy NBA team requires eight players: a point guard, a guard, a shooting guard, a small forward, a power forward, a forward, two centers, and one utility player. The team must include players from at least two different NBA games, and the total salaries must equal no more than $50,000. Mississippi has no team of its own in the NBA to support but polling shows that the most popular NBA team in the state is the Memphis Grizzlies. Coming in a close second are the is the New Orleans Pelicans.

College Fantasy Sports – Plenty of Choice

We have seen that Mississippi is not really known for its sporting prowess; it does not have any professional sporting teams in any of the major leagues. However, at a college level, the state does quite well. The Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association is the highest collegiate league, and Mississippi has teams from six different universities in it. These come from: Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, and The University of Southern Mississippi.

Timeline of Daily Fantasy Sports Legislation

Mississippi’s history of gambling shows that this state was open to gambling from fairly early on. There have been numerous amendments made to laws as things progressed, but quite a few laws are surprisingly generous to gambling operators. We will run you through some of the most important dates.

If you want to know more about gambling in Mississippi, you can look at our Mississippi gambling page.

Legal Daily Fantasy Betting Age in Mississippi

It is quite common for legal gambling ages to vary depending on the form of gambling. In Mississippi, you must be 21 years old to participate in nearly every type of gambling. The only exception is charitable bingo, for which you may be aged 18 years old.

If you are with someone underage and allow them to place a bet, then you can be fined $300 or be imprisoned for three months. If you intentionally did this, knowing them to be underage then you can face much harsher penalties: up to two years in prison.

• DFS Betting Age
  The minimum gambling age in the state of Mississippi is 21 years old.
• Alcohol Age
  You must be at least 21 years old to drink alcohol in Mississippi.
• Weed Age
  Using marijuana for recreational purposes is still illegal in the state of Mississippi.

Is Daily Fantasy Betting Legal Outside of the State?

Daily fantasy sports are very popular pastimes in the USA, with 10% of the population taking part; no other countries has as high a percentage of the population playing DFS. Despite this, it is still not legal in all states. In fact, there are a large number of states that still exist in the gray area we discussed earlier, where DFS has not explicitly been made either legal or illegal. While Mississippi has passed legislation to make daily fantasy sports legal in the state, this is actually quite surprising if you take a look at its neighbors. Both Louisiana and Alabama have legislation in place making DFS explicitly illegal. Tennessee has stayed in the gray area, with no legislation either way. Arkansas has followed in Mississippi’s footsteps and made DFS legal in 2017.

The Best Fantasy Sports App in Mississippi

In this day and age, nearly everything can be achieved from your smart phone. It is no surprise, therefore, that you can also play Mississippi daily fantasy sports on your phone as well. Making drafts and picks is still super easy, and nearly all DFS sites are fully mobile optimized so you can still enjoy a smooth experience. In fact, a lot of the sites have downloadable apps as well to make things really simple. Below we have recommended our favorite for the state.

Taxes on Daily Fantasy Winnings: Legal Overview

All gambling winnings in the USA are subject to federal income tax which is set at a flat rate of 25%. On top of that, some states also choose to have a state tax on winnings as well. Gambling winnings from Mississippi casinos are subject to a 3% non-refundable income tax.

To report your gambling winnings, you should use the W-2G, 1099. If you are not a resident of Mississippi, then you should fill out the Non-Resident or Part-Year Resident Individual Income Tax Return Form 80-205.

If you have more questions, the state of Mississippi Department of Revenue FAQ page is very useful.

Upcoming Regulation Changes to Be Aware Of

It can be argued that Mississippi is already ahead of the curve since it has formally legalized daily fantasy sports. On top of this, sports betting is now legal in Mississippi as long as it occurs within a casino, which is very progressive. This move suggests that Mississippi is looking to update its other laws as well, so it is likely that online betting – and especially online sports betting – might be the next form of gambling to be legalized in the state.

Daily Fantasy Guides for Nearby States

• Tennessee
• Alabama
• Louisiana
• Arkansas