Mississippi Politician Pens Op-Ed Regarding Internet Gambling

Mississippi Democrat Bobby Moak has announced penned an op-ed article in the Clarion Ledger in which he urged the state's Republicans to legalize online gambling.

In the piece, Moak noted that The Hospitality State had fallen to sixth in terms of US gambling revenues, down from number three in the 1990's. "Mississippi’s Republican majority might be well-served to review the pass they’ve taken on a Democratic lawmaker’s initiatives in online gaming. That’s a matter of economic impact and tax revenue," Moak wrote.

Moak, who has been in the Mississippi Legislature since 1984, went on to speak about many fellow states have either adopted, or are looking at legalizing cyber betting... a move that could cost the state millions of dollars in revenues. "Every additional state that enters the online gaming market threatens Mississippi current traditional gaming sales, tax revenues and jobs," the article claims.

Moak has twice tried to push internet betting legislation through his state. Both times the measure appeared to fall on deaf ears, as state level politicians expressed little interest in such a bill. Those previous bills would have restricted internet betting to existing land casinos, while charging a 5% tax rate on gross gaming revenues.