Mississippi passes bill to seize gambling winnings from parents who owe child support
The Mississippi Legislature on Tuesday approved a bill allowing the state to withhold gambling winnings from people with outstanding child support, sending SB 2369 to Gov. Tate Reeves after a 92-22 House vote.
Sen. Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland, authored the bill, which allows the Mississippi Gaming Commission and the Mississippi Department of Human Services to create a process to intercept winnings from individuals who owe child support.
Mississippi Department of Human Services spokesman Mark Jones said the agency has pushed for four years to get the policy enacted. “This is another measure that MDHS has undertaken to serve families across Mississippi,” Jones said. “This is about parents supporting their children. Enhancing opportunities for parents to support their children is desperately needed.”
Federal data show Mississippi had the lowest child support collection rate in the nation in 2024, collecting 53% of court-ordered payments compared with 65% nationally, lawmakers said. Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount said data he obtained show 153,964 children in Mississippi are owed a total of $1.7 billion. “When I heard that amount, I was just flabbergasted,” Michel said, calling the bill a step toward collecting past-due payments from what he called “deadbeat parents.”
Lawmakers said the measure would mostly affect slot machine winnings of more than $2,000 because gaming licensees must report those payouts to the Internal Revenue Service. The bill also targets slot machine annuities and sports-betting winnings. Similar measures stalled in prior years after opposition from the casino industry, Michel said, but he and Blount said this version targets the “right mix of winnings.” Lawmakers pointed to other states with comparable laws, noting the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services intercepted an average of nearly $1 million a year from casinos in its first nine years, according to the National Child Support Engagement Association.
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