Track the Progress of Legal Sports Betting in Louisiana

Timeline of Legal Sports Betting in Louisiana

With sports betting finally going live in Louisiana, we need to take a look at where we are and how we got here. Below is the complete timeline of the legislative process to bring legal sports gambling to Louisiana.

November 4, 2020 - As is the case with most states, the path to legal sports betting began at the ballots. 55 out of the 64 parishes in Louisiana voted to allow sports betting in the state.

May 11, 2021 - HB697 passes the house and heads to the Louisiana Senate. The bill proposes a tax rate of 10% on all in-person betting and 18% on all online betting. While this is far from the lowest tax rate on online sports betting, it is still viewed as a win for online operators.

May 19, 2021 - Ahead of their vote on HB697, the Senate passes SB247. This bill calls for 20 sports betting licenses in the state of Louisiana.

May 20, 2021 - HB697 easily passes through the Louisiana state Senate. From here, the house bill moves to Governor John Bel Edwards' desk.

June 3, 2021 - A third bill comes into play, SB142. This bill lays out how the tax revenue driven through sports betting will be used. The majority of the money will go into the state's general fund for use in the LA school system. Parishes that voted to legalize sports betting will also get a share of the revenue.

June 7, 2021 - Governor John Bel Edwards signs HB697 into law. Tax rates and fees are now set in the state of Louisiana.

June 10, 2021 - Louisiana senators vote on the House's proposed amendments to their bill, SB247. This bill sets the regulations that will apply to sportsbook operators in Louisana including fees and tax rates.

June 22, 2021 - Governor Edwards signs both SB247 and SB142. All legislation needed to bring sports betting to Louisiana is now in place.

Louisiana Launches Sports Betting

The Bayou State went live with sports betting in late January of 2022. This was perfect timing, as it was right in the thick of the NFL Playoffs. All online sportsbooks within the state have reported a healthy amount of sports betting handle so far.

Now that the party has officially started in Louisiana, look for sports betting to bring in a ton of tax dollars for the state in 2022.

February of 2022 saw the state bring in a total of $238.4 million in handle. Judging by that number, next football season promises to be big in Louisiana.

What SportsBooks Will Operate in Louisiana?

Every online sportsbook that wishes to operate in Louisiana must partner with one of the state's 20 casinos.

Each casino receives a license to offer legal sports betting as well as two 'skins' that they can can provide to a third-party operator. This means there could be as many as 40 skins awarded in the state of Louisiana.

Considering the relatively operator-friendly regulations in the state, Louisiana sports bettors should have no shortage of options. Tennesse passed some of the harshest fees and tax rates we have seen to date and operators are lining up to gain access to the market.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings have actively lobbied for legal sports betting in the state, and Caesars SportsBook recently signed a stadium sponsorship deal with the New Orleans Saints.

In addition to FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars, these three sportsbooks are already live in Louisiana:

• BetMGM
• BetRivers
• Barstool SportsBook