Louisiana Sports Betting Legal
Legal Louisiana online sports betting went live early this year; it launched on Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 a.m. CST. The launch date comes after Louisiana’s sports betting regulation bill was signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards in June 2021, allowing as many as 41 mobile operators to enter the state. The bill allows each of the state’s 20 combined casinos and pari-mutuel horse tracks to partner with two online operators apiece. Six sportsbooks were approved to go live on Day 1, and more sportsbooks are expected to follow in the next few weeks.
Louisiana bettors will be able to bet on all the major league sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL), including college basketball, football including international sports such as European soccer leagues, cricket and rugby.
The two bills came after Louisiana voters in 55 of the 64 parishes approved legal wagering in their respective jurisdictions on a 2020 ballot measure. Eligible bettors aged 21 and up physically within these parishes can place a mobile bet with a licensed operator from their phone or mobile device without having to complete registration in person. Because the state only offers online/mobile sports betting, geo-location is used when you play in order to confirm that you are within the approved parishes.
Louisiana is the first state to approve mobile sports betting on a county-by-county (or parish-by-parish) basis. Voters in every parish with a casino or horse track approved the 2020 referendum, allowing all these facilities to open retail sportsbooks on their properties. Bettors can wager from any approved parish, which includes those around Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport and most other population centers.
Louisiana’s sports betting regulatory bill will permit betting on college sports, including the LSU Tigers football team. Industry analysts estimate that college sports betting may make up 15% of total handle, a percentage that could be even higher in a college football town like Louisiana.
Louisiana will be just the third mobile wagering market in the South, after Tennessee and Virginia.
House Bill 697 set the tax rates for both retail and mobile sportsbooks. Mobile sportsbooks will be taxed at 18%, while retail sportsbooks will be taxed on their profit at 10%. This is a fairly small rate compared to states like New York, which just finalized a tax rate of 51% on sportsbook operators. This tax revenue will benefit various state causes. Here is a breakdown of where the tax revenue will go:
- 60% to the general fund
- 25% to early education
- 12% to the parishes
- 2% to programs for gambling addiction
- 1% to a sports wagering purse fund for horse racing
Everyone over the age of 21 and not on the Louisiana Gaming Control Board self-exclusion list can participate in online gambling. Pari Mutuel wagering is available to everyone who is at least 18 years of age, but unlike most other states DFS contests require you to be 21. In addition, casino and racetrack employees are prohibited from wagering on events or playing casino games at their respective establishments, as are members of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.