An Ole Miss study shows over 60% of students make illegal online sports bets
Students are using VPNs to wager online in legal states
Mississippi gambling laws only permit retail sports betting
People in Mississippi making illegal online bets on sports is not a surprising development. The problem of Americans wagering on sports online at illegal offshore sportsbooks is well-documented.
However, in this case, it's how Mississippi college students are doing their online sports betting that comes as a surprise. They are making bets in states where online sports betting is legal and regulated. And a lot of them are doing it.
A study of 1,600 students conducted by the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) revealed data that over 60% of the students surveyed indicated they were betting online through legal platforms in neighboring states. Additionally, those students acknowledged that they either didn't know or didn't care that what they were doing was against the law.
Three states that border Mississippi - Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee - all offer legal and regulated online sports betting.
“Our students are showing similar patterns to those identified by the NCAA and seen nationally, including that legality doesn’t make a difference with college students,” Dan Durkin, an Ole Miss associate professor of social work, told
Mississippi Today.
The University of Mississippi study was conducted by Durkin, Hannah Allen, Nicholas McAfee, George McClellan, and Ronald Rychlak in conjunction with the University of Mississippi’s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing.
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Mississippi students using VPNs to circumvent the law
The Ole Miss study showed that 15% were making sports bets through legal US and Canadian platforms. Another 18% were wagering at casinos, while 32% asked friends or family members to make bets for them at legal online gambling sites. An additional 15% indicated that they do their betting through illegal offshore sites.
Students who answered the study said they use online cloaking devices such as virtual privacy networks (VPN) to disguise their location while making illegal bets. Online sports betting sites are required by law to utilize geolocation software to determine that the person placing the online bet is physically situated within state lines. A VPN can circumvent this security measure.
In a bizarre finding unearthed by this study, students revealed that most learned how to use a VPN thanks to online pornography. In 2023, Mississippi passed a bill into law requiring all online pornography sites to install age verification software. The students acquired VPNs to use as a workaround to sign into the sites. Later, many came to realize the same software would enable them to make illegal sports bets in other states.
Mississippi online sports betting bills keep stalling in the State Senate
Mississippi was among the first states to legalize sports betting after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in May 2018. Retail sports betting launched in the state in the summer of 2018. However, Mississippi doesn't offer statewide online sports betting.
There is limited access to online wagering. You can place an online sports wager via an app on a mobile device. To do so, your location must be within a land-based casino that houses a retail sportsbook. You also must be at least 21 years old.
Attempts to pass an online sports betting bill have successfully moved through the State House in 2023, 2024, and 2025. In 2025, House Bill 774. Known as the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, passed by a 97-14 margin in the State House. Each time, though, the bill has stalled in the State Senate.
Mississippi House Speaker Jason White, a Republican, is a big proponent of the legalization of online sports betting. He said they will be attempting to pass a bill again in 2026.
Mississippi lawmakers suggest that the state is losing $3 billion in revenue annually to illegal offshore gambling sites.
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People in Mississippi making illegal online bets on sports is not a surprising development. The problem of Americans wagering on sports online at illegal offshore sportsbooks is well-documented.
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