Louisiana Reports $6 Million in Retail Revenue, Mobile to Launch in January
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Sports bettors in the Bayou should be very excited about the recent news from state legislators as we should be only a few weeks away from a rollout of mobile sports betting in Louisiana. In November, the first month that the state had retail sports betting available, operators had great success with a staggering 20.6% win rate that helped them take in almost $6 million in revenue. Licenses are already in the approval process for mobile sports betting, and we expect more good news out of Louisiana in the coming weeks.
First Month of Retail Sports Betting
In November, Louisiana reported a retail sports betting handle of $27.6 million that generated $5.7 million in revenue on a 20.6% hold rate. Louisiana taxes sports betting operators at a rate of about 10%, so tax revenue was $568,571 for the first month. 25% of that tax revenue is allocated to early education funding.
Louisiana has eight retail operators, four of which were open for the full month and four of which were open for just under three weeks. The state did not report specific operator numbers, but it did report that parlays generated $3.7 million in revenue, just shy of 65% of the state’s total. Football ranked second with $1.6 million in revenue while basketball ($369,931) and soccer ($21,203) trailed behind.
Plans for January Mobile Launch
Louisiana legislators are hoping that the state will become the first in the Deep South to legalize mobile sports betting as soon as January 15. Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns has expressed his desire to have that be the launch date and has spoken to his elation at the “huge success” that the legalization process has been as his team has avoided “major mistakes” while succeeding faster than the legislature would have expected.
Major Chuck McNealof the Louisiana State Police has yet to firm up the January 15 date, and his input is necessary as the state police is the body conducting the license approval process. The state police were slowed during the fall months due to Hurricane Ida. 20 licenses have been made available to commercial casinos and racetracks, each of which is allowed two different sports betting skins.
Johns has stated that he has already taken in 13 license applications from retail sportsbooks, and all 20 possible applicants are expected to apply by the end of 2021 with no competitive bid process necessary. Caesars, Penn National Gaming, and DraftKings already have retail locations in Louisiana, and they are all expected to eventually hold mobile licenses, as well.
Louisiana first approved sports betting in 55 of 64 parishes in a 2020 statewide referendum, and in June, Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill that legalized in-person sports betting in those 55 parishes. In the first quarter of 2022, we fully expect those parishes to launch their mobile sports betting markets, as well.
We will update you when we know more about the launch of mobile sports betting in Louisiana. In the meantime, you can check out our official Louisiana sports betting page for more information on the legal process and tons of awesome pre-registration bonus offers from our favorite sportsbooks.
