The first full month of legal online sports betting in Louisiana saw the state's wagering soar to new heights, as a handful of mobile bookmakers officially set up shop in the southeastern state.
Figures published this week by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board show the state’s sports-wagering handle hit approximately $238.4 million in February, $211 million of which was due to mobile betting. The other $27.4 million legally bet on sports last month in the Pelican State was at 13 casinos.
Louisiana’s February handle was more than double the $89.8 million wagered in the state during January, which had just four days in which legal online sportsbooks were available.
January’s wagering was split much more evenly between mobile and retail wagering, with $40.5 million attributed to online bookmakers and $49.3 million to brick-and-mortar locations.
Louisiana’s handle for February puts it somewhere in the middle of the pack among states with legal sports betting, which is more or less equal to its population. For instance, the February handle for Iowa, which has a smaller population than Louisiana but a more mature wagering market, was $215.9 million.
A long time coming
Nevertheless, the action taken by Louisiana’s books comes after months of work by lawmakers and regulators to get both retail and online channels open for bettors. Retail wagering began in late 2021 and was followed by the legal launch of online sports betting in the state near the end of January.
In addition to the 13 casinos, there were six online sportsbooks legally taking bets in Louisiana in February: Barstool, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
Those six bookmakers have generated net proceeds of $7.6 million so far, which includes almost $11.7 million in deductions for promotional wagers and works out to a win rate of 3%. The operators have paid $2.2 million in taxes to the state as well.
