Online Sports Betting To Legally Start In Louisiana On Friday
Online sportsbooks can lawfully start taking bets in Louisiana on Friday early morning, joining their brick-and-mortar cousins that are currently accepting wagers from gamers in the Pelican State.
" [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 early morning," a news release stated Wednesday. "The remaining mobile sports betting operators remain in the process of meeting statutory and regulatory requirements and will be authorized once those requirements are fulfilled."
One operator that intends 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 currently provide retail sports betting on their residential or commercial properties.
"We've seen incredible interest in legal sports wagering because the opening of our Caesars Sportsbooks at Harrah's New Orleans and Horseshoe Bossier City," stated Eric Hession, co-president of Caesars Digital, in a statement. "Come Friday, through the app, we'll be able to provide even more opportunities to experience the adventure of sports wagering."
Other mobile sportsbooks anticipated 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 wagering is legal and operational in the U.S. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board's announcement also indicates that online sports wagering will be licensed in time for the next round of the National Football League's playoffs and the Super Bowl afterwards.
Prep work
Voters in 55 of Louisiana's 64 parishes (comparable to counties) enacted favor of enabling sports wagering back in November 2020. Lawmakers then passed legislation in 2015 permitting the gaming control panel to provide up to 20 licenses for in-person and online sportsbooks, with choice offered towards the state's gambling establishments and live horse-racing tracks. The Louisiana Lottery Corp. is enabled to take sports wagers through website, mobile app, and retail kiosks also.
In-person sports betting has actually already started at numerous gambling establishments throughout Louisiana. Online betting, nevertheless, has required a bit more effort and time from regulators to make sure 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 near to presenting online sports wagering. At the time, though, Johns said that they wanted to ensure a good experience for bettors and couldn't ensure mobile betting 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 will be a few of the biggest names in business. That's due to the fact that licensees can likewise partner with as much as two platform suppliers for online sports wagering, each of which are allowed to use their own individually branded website and mobile app in the state.
Some sportsbook operators had actually begun pre-registration efforts ahead of the official launch of online betting. For example, Caesars Entertainment announced in October that its Caesars Sportsbook app was officially available for bettors to download, but just so they might sign up, deposit funds, and begin checking odds. WynnBET revealed on Wednesday that it was likewise enabling pre-registration and deposits in the state.