The idea of legal sports betting in the state of Louisiana has moved quickly since November 2020 when voters in 55 of 64 parishes signaled their desire to welcome wagering on their favorite teams into their jurisdictions.
The end of this week saw wide ranging discussion of three legislative bills necessary to take legal sports betting past the next step. With House Bill 697, Senate Bill 142 and Senate Bill 247 each gaining more votes than necessary in their respective legislative bodies, Bill 247 will be sent back to the Senate with a few minor amendments before heading to Governor John Bel Edwards to sign into law.
The next steps are seen more as formalities – two of the three Bills still need one more reading in their legislative bodies before being sent to the Governor’s desk where there isn’t expected to be any resistance whatsoever.
Bill 697
The first Bill dealing with legal sports betting for Louisiana was House Bill 697 that mostly deals with the tax implications of a legal sports betting platform for the state. It gives the Louisiana Lottery power to launch and regulate sports betting and levy and collect taxes on the platform. It was approved in the House on May 10 by a 78-24 vote and by the Senate by a 32-4 vote May 26 before being sent to the Governor’s desk where it is waiting to be signed into law.
House Bill 697 stipulates a 10% tax on GGR for retail sportsbooks and a 15% tax on mobile apps. It lays out an initial licensing fee of $250,000 with a $500,000 renewal fee every five years. It is estimated that Bill 697 alone will generate $20 million in annual revenue.
Bill 142
Bill 142 is another of the necessary sports betting bills to be considered, amended and sent to the governor’s desk for signing. It was designed to direct where sports betting revenues for the state are to go. Under the bill, 20% of sports betting revenues would go to early childhood education with 1% earmarked for a newly created Behavioral Health and Wellness Fund and another 1% going to a Sports Wagering Purse Supplemental Fund. 68% will be directed to the state’s General Fund to be used wherever seen fit.
Bill 142 passed the Senate on Wednesday by a 33-3 vote and will head to the House Appropriations Committee on Monday for second reading and hopefully a third reading shortly after that.
Senate Bill 247
The last Bill that needs to clear is Senate Bill 247 which essentially sets out how the industry will be regulated in Louisiana. It passed in the House on Thursday by a 78-15 vote, setting it up for yet another reading in the Senate, which should be the final one, potentially during Sunday’s session.
Bill 247 was one of the first Bills to pass, back on May 19 by a 31-6 vote before proceeding and effectively kicking off the drafting, reading and passing of the other two related Bills. Because it has passed already, it is seen as a formality that the final legislative hurdle will be cleared by Thursday’s deadline and that Gov. John Bel Edwards will have the three Bills needed for legal sports betting to proceed in his state, on his desk, ready to sign.
When the Governor Signs…
The Louisiana sports betting scene will consist of 20 brick-and-mortar licenses which appear to have already been spoken for. Louisiana’s one land-based casino, its fifteen riverboat casinos, and the four race tracks are all in line for one of the valuable 20 retail licenses.
There will be an additional forty mobile sports betting platforms that look as though they will be tied to the retail facilities. Each of the 20 retail licensees will have the chance at 2 mobile licenses. Registration for mobile apps will be remote, with no in-person sign-up requirement.
Where the Money Will Go
It is estimated that $20 million in yearly revenue will be generated from legal sports betting in Louisiana and operate out of 55 of its 64 parishes.
The revenue generated has been broken down seemingly to the last penny. The Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund will get 20% of all revenue from the legal sports betting industry in the state, 10% will be allotted to equal distribution among the parishes involved, 1% goes to the Behavioral Health and Wellness Fund, 1% will be put toward the Sports Wagering Purse Supplemental Fund, and the remaining 68% will be go into the Louisiana General Fund to be used as needed for a host of initiatives statewide.
In the End
Most, if not all of the heavy lifting should be done with regard to Louisiana’s legal sports betting industry by Thursday, June 10 when the legislature convenes. The Governor’s signature will be needed on three different Bills – he has one and should receive the other two by Monday.
With that, the start of the NFL season looks as though it the goal for launch in Louisiana. It appears as though the state has learned a thing or two from their disastrous DFS rollout that has taken years and still hasn’t been completed – from voter approval in 2018 to its hopeful launch later this year.
Louisiana is poised to become the first state in their region with a mobile sports betting platform and the state should benefit from that fact. It all adds up to Louisiana, despite nine dissenting parishes, becoming one of the more successful markets in the country.
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