The NFL season brought a steady flow of wagers to the Pelican State, but with just two games to bet on in February there just wasn’t enough to match a January filled with playoff matchups.
Louisiana’s Gaming Control Board reported that their sportsbooks took in $274.7 million in bets last month, a 20% decline versus January. Unfortunately for the operators, their hold percentage fell, too, dropping from 11.2% to 9.1%, meaning that their gross revenue sunk.
More specifically, the retail sportsbooks took the worst of the month-over-month decline. Their net revenue failed to pass $1 million for the first time this fiscal year and their hold percentage only hit 3.6%, well short of January’s 11.3%. Compared to February 2023, last month’s revenue was 47% lower.
The online markets saw their revenue fall from $35.6 million to $24.2 million but unlike the physical locations, their year-over-year revenue was 36% higher. All in all the Pelican State made $3.7 million in taxes, down from $5.6 million.
Super Bowl a winner in LA
One thing that both the online and retail sportsbooks have in common was the bad luck in the Super Bowl.
For the Louisiana sports betting online operators, football was the only major sport where the bettors beat the house, winning $1.7 million. And the physical books, despite their lower handle, reported a loss of $1 million on football bets.
February was the only month in the 2023-2024 NFL season where either book paid out more than they took in.
| Sport | Net proceeds |
|---|---|
| Basketball | $4.4 million |
| Other | $1.9 million |
| Soccer | $436,994 |
| Baseball | $63,476 |
| Football | -$1.7 million |
