Sports betting will likely be legal in Mississippi in the near future and Vicksburg stands to reap the benefits of it.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a bill in 2017 that legalized sports betting in the state, but it was still illegal at the federal level until Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which outlawed betting on most sports outside of Nevada.

Mississippi has 28 casinos including the four in Vicksburg and the state’s gaming commission is currently working on regulations that would enable them to operate sports books.

“We went into a planning stage several months ago once we found out there was going to be a chance of sports book betting in the state,” Tony Scudiero, general manager of Waterview Casino Vicksburg, said. “We feel very confident that everything is going to get done, and hopefully just before football season begins, which is probably the most popular of all the betting seasons.”

Scudiero said they have already identified where in the casino the sports book will be placed and are just waiting for the gaming commission to give them the go ahead. Once the commission makes the rules public for comment, which is expected to occur no later than their June meeting, they must wait 25 days to finalize them and then another 30 days for them to go into effect.

The hope is that by voting in June, the regulations will go into place in time for betting to begin with the start of the NFL season Sept. 6.

Under the legislation, the sports betting will be confined to the casinos, and Scudiero said they are making plans to accommodate their new costumers.

“We do know the sports books are going to have to be located inside the casino and where that space will be,” he said. “We are also looking at conveniences for the guests such as kiosks and things of that nature of what will be convenient for the guests and also comfortable for them when they are making their bets and watching the games.”

Scudiero and Paul Avery, who is the general manager of Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg, said one of the biggest potential revenue sources is people coming over from Louisiana where no bill to legalize sports betting has found traction.

“I think it is a big plus for the state of Mississippi and the city of Vicksburg, not only from a tax revenue standpoint, but also from additional visitors and tourism, especially from neighboring states if they do not have it,” Avery said. “It will be an amenity and an additional form of gaming that is not available in our sister states.”

It was announced in March that Lady Luck Casino was in the process of being sold to Churchill Downs Inc., which also owns Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg. Avery said because of the impending sale, they will wait to see how the new owners intend to move forward with allowing sports betting.

A press release from Churchill Downs said they plan to, “offer on-property sports betting products,” in the casinos they currently own in Mississippi, which are Riverwalk and Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa in Greenville. 

“We are confident that our strategic partnership with SBTech provides us with an industry leading platform to offer innovative and exciting, integrated iGaming and sports betting products,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs.  “We have the unique opportunity to leverage our knowledge and experience operating the largest legal online horse racing wagering business in the U.S. as we enter the iGaming and sports betting markets.”

A representative from Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg said it was too early in the process to comment on if or how the casino will offer sports betting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.