A bill that would give authorities the ability to intercept the gambling winnings of parents not paying child support is making headway in the Mississippi legislature.

Two pieces of legislation — Senate Bill 2403 and House Bill 1949 — have passed in their respective chambers. The House’s version, authored by Rep. Jay McKnight, R-Gulfport, was amended by the Senate Gaming Committee on Friday to reflect the Senate bill’s language, which is credited to Sen. Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland.

The legislation emboldens a strategic partnership between the Mississippi Department of Human Services and the Gaming Commission. Specifically, it allows the two agencies to create a database to withhold gaming winnings from parents behind on child support payments. This would include earnings from slot machines, sports betting, and other reportable cash winnings.

“These are winnings for which the industry is already preparing a document to report to the IRS. For that reason, it’s something that’s easily tracked,” Senate Gaming Committee chair David Blount, D-Jackson, said. “[The agencies] are going to have to develop a database to see if child support is owed, and there’s an awful lot more than $1 billion that is owed. We believe this bill will help.”

SB 2403 currently awaits consideration in the House Gaming Committee, whereas HB 1949 will head to the Senate floor for a vote. If the two bills are passed as-is and sent to Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk, the new law would go into effect no later than Jan. 1, 2026.

Similar legislation has been proposed in the past, but did not pick up much steam.