Online sportsbooks can legally begin taking bets in Louisiana on Friday morning, joining their brick-and-mortar cousins that are already accepting wagers from players in the Pelican State.
Bettors in Louisiana will need to be 21 or older and be physically located in one of the 55 parishes that voted in favor of sports gambling in November 2020 to wager online.
"[Louisiana Gaming Control Board] Chairman Ronnie Johns announces that currently eligible sports wagering operators will be approved to accept mobile bets as early as 8:00 a.m. Friday morning," a press release said Wednesday. "The remaining mobile sports wagering operators are in the process of meeting statutory and regulatory requirements and will be approved once those requirements are met."
One operator that plans on taking wagers on Friday in Louisiana is Caesars Sportsbook. The bookmaker's owner, Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment Inc., operates casinos in the southern state that already offer retail sports betting on their properties.
"We’ve seen tremendous interest in legal sports betting since the opening of our Caesars Sportsbooks at Harrah’s New Orleans and Horseshoe Bossier City," said Eric Hession, co-president of Caesars Digital, in a statement. "Come Friday, through the app, we’ll be able to offer even more opportunities to experience the thrill of sports wagering."
Other mobile sportsbooks expected to go live in Louisiana on Friday include BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
More broadly, though, Wednesday’s news will add another state to the growing map of places where online sports betting is legal and operational in the U.S. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board's announcement also means that online sports betting will be authorized in time for the next round of the National Football League's playoffs and the Super Bowl thereafter.
Prep work
Voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes (similar to counties) voted in favor of allowing sports betting back in November 2020. Lawmakers then passed legislation last year permitting the gaming control board to issue up to 20 licenses for in-person and online sportsbooks, with preference given towards the state’s casinos and live horse-racing tracks. The Louisiana Lottery Corp. is allowed to take sports wagers via website, mobile app, and retail kiosks as well.
In-person sports betting has already started at several casinos across Louisiana. Online wagering, however, has required a bit more time and effort from regulators to ensure things run smoothly and in accordance with the state’s sports-betting rules.
Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns told Covers recently that regulators were getting close to rolling out online sports betting. At the time, though, Johns said that they wanted to ensure a good experience for bettors and couldn’t guarantee mobile wagering would be up and running in time for the Super Bowl. That is no longer the case.
While the main licensees in Louisiana will be the owners and operators of brick-and-mortar facilities, the consumer-facing brands for mobile wagering will be some of the biggest names in the business. That’s because licensees can also partner with up to two platform providers for online sports betting, each of which are allowed to offer their own individually branded website and mobile app in the state.
Some sportsbook operators had begun pre-registration efforts ahead of the official launch of online wagering. For example, Caesars Entertainment announced in October that its Caesars Sportsbook app was officially available for bettors to download, but just so they could sign up, deposit funds, and start checking odds. WynnBET announced on Wednesday that it was likewise allowing pre-registration and deposits in the state.
“WynnBET’s launch in Louisiana is just the beginning of an exciting few months for our company as we significantly increase our footprint during the first quarter of 2022,” Wynn Interactive President Ian Williams said in a press release. “Pending regulatory approval, we will also soon be launching our online sportsbook in New York and Iowa, expanding the number of states players can enjoy our platform from seven to 10.”
