Louisiana Sports Betting Betting Info And The Best LA Sportsbooks
Louisiana is now open to all forms of legalized sports betting. Earlier sports betting was only offered at retail locations, but mobile and online sports betting also went live in the Pelican State on January 28, 2022. The state has always done things a little differently from the others, so it is not surprising to see that its approach to sports betting has also been pretty original. In November 2020, a referendum was passed by Louisiana voters who legalized sports betting in the state.
But, voters in each parish (i.e. counties) could decide if to open up sports betting in their specific communities. This was the main difference, as in other states, the referendum was done state-wide and not broken down by county. Everything is a bit different in Louisiana as, for instance, they have common law system, while the other 49 states have a common law system. They also have parishes instead of counties, and 64 of them had a say on sports betting. Eventually, 55 of the 64 parishes approved sports betting both online and retail (in-person). The nine parishes that have refused are geofenced, so wagers are not possible from there.
Therefore, residents of these parishes who want to wager legally on sports must drive to a neighbouring parish where sports betting is allowed. This is unique in the US, but as we have said before, no other state is like Louisiana. Retail betting was officially launched in the state in October 2021, while mobile was launched on January 28, 2022.
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Louisiana sports betting legislative overview
Similarly to other states, Louisiana voters were asked if they wanted to legalize sports betting. If the voters said yes, the legislature would work to create a regulatory framework. Louisiana voters passed the referendum in 2020, and in 2021 three bills were designed to regulate sports betting in Louisiana.
Louisiana online sports betting
As of January 28, 2022 Louisiana online and mobile sports betting was launched! The law allows up to 20 sportsbook licenses, and all the existing casinos in the state are entitled to apply for one. Eventually, Louisiana will likely be one of the most open and competitive states regarding sports betting. Currently there are 19 commercial casinos in Louisiana:
- 14 riverboat casinos
- 4 racino horse tracks
- 1 large Harrah’s casino right in the middle of New Orleans
All the 19 casinos have the right to apply for a sports betting license, and each licensee will qualify for two online skins, with the skin being a mobile component. So, for instance, when Harrah’s New Orleans secures a sports betting license, the casino will be able to have two online partners. Harrah’s is owned by Caesars, so Caesars Sportsbook is one of the two available brands. Some casino owners like Caesars have multiple proprieties, so the licenses will likely be less than the maximum of 40, with a dozen different operators competing in the Louisiana market, which should be realistic. This will be great for Louisiana bettors, that will have a great choice and benefit from the high-level competition.
Louisiana Kiosks
The Louisiana Lottery also has a license and can have a sportsbook operator as a partner. Differently from other states, the lottery operator in Louisiana is also has in charge of administering up to 1,000 sports kiosks located in bars and restaurants. With mobile betting being launched legally in the state, many bettors will opt to place their wagers via their phones. Yet, restaurants and bars can offer alternative options with authorized kiosks, which will generate additional tax revenue for the state as they are taxed at 10 per cent of the net revenue.
What are the current legal Louisiana online sportsbooks?
As mentioned earlier, retail sportsbooks were joined by mobile sportsbooks after the official launch on January 28, 2022. FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, BetRivers and Barstool launched their products in Louisiana, and you can expend more will follow soon. Let’s take a look, for now, at the legal sportsbooks operating in Louisiana.
Caesars Sportsbook
It is not surprising that Caesars launched their online sportsbook immediately in Louisiana. After all, casino giant Caesars have four retail casinos in the state, including Harrah’s Casino New Orleans, the official casino partner of the city’s NBA teams, Saints and Pelicans. As a result, the Caesars Sportsbook mobile app went live as one of the first five operators to launch, and it is likely to be a leading provider in the state for some time to come.
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook was already present in Louisiana before its mobile launch on January 28, 2022. The famous DFS product was available to locals with a pair of retail locations, so it was just a matter of time before the DraftKings mobile sportsbook could become available in Louisiana. DraftKings partnered with the Golden Nugget Lake Charles, and it is one of the leading operators in the state.
FanDuel Sportsbook
Boyd Gaming has five retail casinos in Louisiana, and clearly, this is an important state for the company. They have partnered with FanDuel in several states, so they can provide sports betting to those markets. They replicated the same model also in Louisiana with FanDuel, which was one of Louisiana’s first five mobile sportsbooks to launch here.
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetMGM also has an established partnership agreement with Boyd Gaming. As a result, Boyd Gaming announced that BetMGM would operate as an online skin for the Sam’s Town Casino in Shreveport. BetMGM launched the online and mobile product on January 28, 2022, in Louisiana on the back of this partnership.
BetRivers
Rush Street Interactive has launched BetRivers in Louisiana thanks to the partnership with online casino and technology provider Boom Entertainment. However, no details were provided regarding which exact retail location the BetRivers mobile skin is connected with.
Barstool Sportsbook
Penn National owns five casinos in Louisiana, and the company also has a sizeable stake in Barstool Sports. Not surprisingly, Barstool Sportsbook went live in Louisiana from January 28, 2022 and it is one of the top operators in the state.
Potential future new sportsbooks in Louisiana
All the sportsbooks listed above are currently live and are legally accepting wagers in the state of Louisiana. However, many more are expected to launch in the near future, and despite there isn’t confirmation yet, these sportsbooks might well be present in the Pelican State soon:
Bally Bet
Bally Bet is expanding in the sports betting industry and has launched in Colorado in May 2021. They have a partnership with Sinclair, who owns the New Orleans Regional Sports Network (RSN), also known as Bally Sports New Orleans. The channel has live sporting events, and programming focused on sports betting. Additionally, Bally’s Corp also owns the Eldorado Shreveport, so they have access to a sports betting license. For these reasons, it won’t be a surprise to see Bally Bet entering the Louisiana market anytime soon.
TwinSpires Sportsbook
Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) owns the BetAmerica and TwinSpires brands. The company has made a considerable investment to bring BetAmerica to several states, including Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In early 2021 they have announced that they were planning to phase out the BetAmerica brand and replace it with TwinSpires in the existing states and any new states they would expand into. In Louisiana, CDI owns the iconic horse racing facilities Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots, so TwinSpires will likely be launched in the state pretty soon.
Golden Nugget Sportsbook
The Golden Nugget is a widely known brand in gambling and has been the number one online casino brand in New Jersey for several years now. They are now looking to translate their online casino success into a successful online sportsbook, and have launched in several states like New Jersey, Michigan and Nevada. Thanks to the Golden Nugget Lake Charles Casino, they could decide to partner with a large sportsbook operator like PointsBet or theScore, or go with their self-branded product. Whatever they choose, we believe that the Golden Nugget will launch sports betting in Louisiana, either with their own sportsbook or through a partnership with another operator.
Betfred Sportsook
Betfred, who started with a single betting shop in 1960’s in England, has become one of the biggest names in the industry. Now Betfred Sportsbook is expanding into US and has already launched in several markets. Betfred launched the state’s first retail sportsbook in October 2021 on the back of a partnership with Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville. Their online product is likely to make its debut pretty soon.
Louisiana sports betting offers and promotions
One great thing about competition in the sports betting industry is that operators are pushed to be as generous as possible to attract the attention of potential new customers and attract new ones. The same applies to Louisiana, where new and existing players can benefit from promotions in the form of risk-free bets, free first bet, or a deposit match. Taking advantage of these offers makes complete sense as they help build up the bankroll, and also they allow to try the new platforms minimizing the initial risk. With mobile sports betting live and running in Louisiana, there are plenty of opportunities in this area. Since each offer tends to be different from the others, make sure you always read the Terms and Conditions before proceeding with your deposit or placing the promotional bet. Every sportsbook has its own requirements, although the most popular offers tend to be the below ones:
Risk-free bet
As we can gauge from the words, a risk-free bet is a bet that you will get refunded if you lose. It is a common promotion that allows new players to wager without risking losing their money. Let’s say, for instance, that you make a $500 deposit and want to place a bet for $500 on a playoff game. With the risk-free bet, you will know that your money will be refunded as site credit if you lose. If you win, you will get the win as usual.
Free bet
As the name indicates, a free bet is a bet that doesn’t cost anything. Lots of sportsbooks offer a free bet when you open a new account, which can be in the form of a site credit, which is given after your first deposit. You can use the free credit to make a bet, which is, therefore, a free bet. If you win, you can keep the winnings, if you lose, you haven’t lost any of your money. The majority of Louisiana sportsbooks will have particular rules on when free bets credits will become eligible for withdrawal, so make sure to check the terms and conditions of the offer before getting involved.
Deposit match
Another popular offer is for a sportsbook to match your first deposit. If the offer is, for example, a 100% deposit match up to $250, it means that the operator will 100% match your first deposit up to a maximum of $250. So, if you deposit $250, the operator will give you $250 in free credits, and your total balance will be $500. The overall amount doesn’t have to be spent on a single bet, it is you that decides how to use it.
Odds boost
Odds boosts usually are available to new customers and existing customers. Many odds boosts are regional and are typically linked with the most interesting local matches. For instance, you might find in Louisiana that operator will boost odds for the Saints or LSU Tigers. They are doing so to incentivize fans to wager on their team. If you are planning to wager anyway on the events boosted, you should take advantage as, if you win, the payout will be higher than usual.
What are the Sports where you can wager on from Louisiana?
Every state will determine the list of sports where it is legal to wager on. Sportsbooks in all the states where sports betting is legal will offer the major sports like the NHL, NFL, WNBA, NBA, College football, College basketball, MLB, Golf, Soccer and so on. Still, some states will have a more innovative approach and let sportsbooks offer just about any sports played globally. Bettors in Louisiana can wager on all the major sports taking place worldwide, with some minor exceptions.
What are the Types of Wagering Markets in Louisiana?
Since sportsbooks in Louisiana are some of the biggest in the industry, bettors have a wide range of wagering markets to choose from. Below are the most common markets that are offered by sportsbooks in Louisiana:
Spread
Moneyline
Over/under
Prop bets
Futures
Teaser
Parlay
Live/in-game
Is sports betting legal in Louisiana?
Yes, sports betting was fully legalized in Louisiana. Retail wagering was launched in October 2021, while mobile wagering was launched on January 28, 2022.
Which online sportsbooks are operating in Louisiana?
The state currently has six online sportsbooks which are already operating in Louisiana since January 28, 2022, and these are:
Caesars
FanDuel
DraftKings
BetMGM
BetRivers
Barstool Sportsbook
The law allows three dozen sportsbooks in Louisiana, although the final number is likely to be lower as seven companies have control of the casino market in the state.
What payments options are available at Louisiana online sportsbooks?
The vast majority of Louisiana legal online sportsbooks are offering almost all the following banking options:
ACH eCheck
Bank wire transfer
Cash at casino cage
Online banking
PayNearMe
PayPal
Play+ prepaid card
Skrill
Visa/Mastercard
When will Louisiana launch mobile sports betting?
Louisiana mobile sports betting is already live. It was launched on January 28, 2022.
When will Louisiana launch mobile sports betting?
As we have seen above, 55 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana voted in 2020 to legalize sports betting. There were, however, nine rural parishes in the northern part of the state that voted against legalization, and these are:
Caldwell
Catahoula
Franklin
Jackson
La Salle
Sabine
Union
West Carroll
Winn
