The launch of online sports betting in Louisiana is being targeted by regulators for early 2022, although more brick-and-mortar books have recently been authorized to take wagers in the state.
Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns said Thursday they are still working on licensing online sportsbooks in the state, but that the process is more complex than the one for retail operations. Several Louisiana casinos have already received temporary licenses allowing for in-person sports wagering.
“It's going to be a little bit more complicated, a little bit more difficult than rolling out these temporary, on-property licenses, because of the nature of the beast,” Johns said of online sports betting during a gaming control board meeting. “But I can assure you that everybody is working very fervently to get online moving because that's where the real, true interest is. We want to do it quickly, but we want to do it the right way. And we won't do it exactly how we rolled out the temporary, on-property licenses.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed legislation into law in June that authorizes the gaming control board to regulate sports betting and issue up to 20 licenses for online and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. But in August, Hurricane Ida made landfall in the U.S., reportedly causing dozens of deaths, destroying millions of dollars in property, and delaying Louisiana's regulatory process for sports betting.
En garde
Johns was also on a panel this past week with other regulators, during which he discussed in more depth the work being done to get online sportsbooks licensed in the state.
“Our goal on that is going to be in early 2022 to go live on mobile,” Johns said. “But there's some real challenges there for us.”
One challenge is that sports betting was authorized in November 2020 by voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes (similar to counties). This means geofencing technology will have to be put in place to ensure online wagering will not be accessible to people in those nine parishes.
Another reason for the slower mobile rollout is the gambling facilities receiving temporary licenses right now for retail sports betting have already been vetted in Louisiana, Johns said. However, with online wagering, the state is dealing with entities they have not scrutinized before, and they are being subjected to a thorough review.
“We want to get there as quickly as we can, but we're going to do it the right way,” Johns said. “I said January 2022 is a goal. Look, it may be March of 2022 when it all rolls out.”
While Johns said he is ready to take any heat for the more gradual process for mobile wagering, he also noted Thursday that the gaming board has now issued eight licenses for in-person sports betting that are in effect. Four of those licenses were awarded in late October and the other four were dished out in November.
According to Johns, the eight locations currently authorized for retail betting in the state are:
- Harrah's New Orleans
- Horseshoe Bossier City Hotel and Casino
- L’Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge
- Boomtown Casino and Hotel New Orleans
- Golden Nugget Lake Charles
- L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles
- Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City
- Boomtown Casino Hotel Bossier City
There are seven other applications for retail sportsbooks that have been submitted and another five locations that still have the potential to do so, regulators were told on Thursday.
“We're moving forward with those pending licenses very quickly,” Johns said during the meeting, adding that the reports he's getting so far are that "everything is going off very smoothly, without a hitch, no problems, and I think that's a real testament to the work that the state police did, and the attorney general's office did, and our board staff did.”
First dibs
Louisiana’s sports-betting law allows for up to 20 licenses for in-person and online sports betting to be issued by the gaming control board.
Harrah’s New Orleans, 15 riverboats, and four live horse-racing tracks were also granted a right of first refusal to apply for those permits by the legalization legislation. Those entities have until December 31 to do so before the board can start considering whether to grant the licenses instead to video poker facilities, off-track betting parlors, and fantasy sports operators.
For online sports betting, licensees can partner with up to two platform providers, each of which would be allowed to offer their own individually branded website and mobile app in the state.
The Louisiana Lottery Corp. is allowed to take sports wagers via website, mobile app, and retail kiosks as well. Sports bettors across the state need to be 21 or older and be physically located in one of the 55 parishes that voted in favor of legal sports betting in November 2020 to wager.
Another physical sportsbook opened in October at Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, La., which is owned by the state’s Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and is not subject to the authority of Louisiana regulators.
