Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 97 - CRIMES (§§ 97-1-1 — 97-47-9) › Chapter 33 - GAMBLING AND LOTTERIES (§§ 97-33-1 — 97-33-317) › IN GENERAL (§§ 97-33-1 — 97-33-49) › Section 97-33-17 - Gambling; money and appliances forfeited; exceptions

(1)
All monies exhibited for the purpose of betting or alluring persons to bet at any game, and all monies staked or betted, shall be liable to seizure by any sheriff, constable, or police officer, together with all the appliances used or kept for use in gambling, or by any other person; and all the monies so seized shall be accounted for by the person making the seizure, and all appliances seized shall be destroyed; provided, however, this section shall not apply to betting, gaming or wagering on:
(a)
A cruise vessel as defined in Section
27-109-1
whenever such vessel is in the waters within the State of Mississippi, which lie adjacent to the State of Mississippi south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay, and in which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on cruise vessels as provided in Section
19-3-79
;
(b)
In a structure located in whole or in part on shore in any of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi in which the registered voters of the county have voted to allow such betting, gaming or wagering on cruise vessels as provided in Section
19-3-79
, if:
(i)
The structure is owned, leased or controlled by a person possessing a gaming license, as defined in Section
75-76-5
, to conduct legal gaming on a cruise vessel under paragraph (a) of this subsection;
(ii)
The part of the structure in which licensed gaming activities are conducted is located entirely in an area which is located no more than eight hundred (800) feet from the mean high-water line (as defined in Section
29-15-1
) of the waters within the State of Mississippi, which lie adjacent to the State of Mississippi south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay, or, with regard to Harrison County only, no farther north than the southern boundary of the right-of-way for U.S. Highway 90, whichever is greater; and
(iii)
In the case of a structure that is located in whole or part on shore, the part of the structure in which licensed gaming activities are conducted shall lie adjacent to state waters south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay. When the site upon which the structure is located consists of a parcel of real property, easements and rights-of-way for public streets and highways shall not be construed to interrupt the contiguous nature of the parcel, nor shall the footage contained within the easements and rights-of-way be counted in the calculation of the distances specified in subparagraph (ii).
(c)
A vessel as defined in Section
27-109-1
whenever such vessel is on the Mississippi River or navigable waters within any county bordering on the Mississippi River, and in which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on vessels as provided in Section
19-3-79
; or
(d)
That is legal under the laws of the State of Mississippi.
(2)
Nothing in this section shall apply to any gambling device, machine or equipment that is owned, possessed, controlled, installed, procured, repaired or transported in accordance with subsection (4) of Section
97-33-7
.
Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 64, art. 3(9); 1857, ch. 64, art. 139; 1871, § 2603; 1880, § 2849; 1892, § 1127; 1906, § 1209; Hemingway's 1917, § 939; 1930, § 966; 1942, § 2196; Laws, 1989, ch. 481, § 3; Laws, 1990, ch. 449, § 6; Laws, 1990, ch. 573, § 12; Laws, 1990 Ex Sess, ch. 45, § 150; Laws, 2005, 5th Ex Sess, ch. 16, § 5, eff. 10/17/2005.