Louisiana Retail Sports Betting to Go Live on October 1st

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) has confirmed that it is readying itself for opening the state’s regulated sports betting market in October instead of the end of September as was initially scheduled. Plans for a September launch were crushed by August 29th’s Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane that rampaged the shores of the Louisiana Gulf Coast in the southern part of New Orleans.

Hurricane Ida was so bad that it led to massive power outages across the region and devastated businesses and homes in the area. Some casinos in South Louisiana ended up shutting down for at least a week after the raging hurricane, whose intensity was second only to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

In a recent interview with the USA Today Network, Ronnie Johns, the LGCB chairperson, disclosed that his team was working effortlessly to recover from the disaster, targeting an October debut for regulated sports betting. He said:

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“Every State Police trooper (in the agency’s Gaming Enforcement Division) was reassigned to disaster recovery for about a week. We lost about seven to 10 days, but everything is back on track now. We had been projecting late September, but our goal now is to have them up and running by Oct. 1st.”

Reports from the LGCB indicate that casinos and racetracks that found themselves in the path of Hurricane Ida suffered losses to the tune of $3 million. Besides, the two-week delay that Ida has brought for the Bayou State’s regulated sports betting market launch only means more financial shortfall, at least for October’s performance.

8 Louisiana Casinos Have Already Submitted Sportsbook License Applications

In June, Governor John Bell Edwards signed two co-dependent bills into law; a sports betting tax bill and a sports betting regulation bill, officially clearing the path for legal wagering on sporting events.  After that, emergency rules were approved in August by the LGCB to open the door for the Big 20 casinos in Louisiana to apply for sports betting licenses

The casinos in question are Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel & Casino, four racinos (horse tracks with slot machines), and 15 riverboats. Last week, the Pelican State’s Gaming Control Board confirmed that eight casinos had presented their legal sports betting applications. Johns, however, said that the identity of these eight applicants is not a public record yet.

Background checks for the sportsbook operators that have teamed up with the gaming entities in Louisiana are already underway, alongside a range of other crucial license-awarding measures.

Meanwhile, the permanent rules that will guide the regulated sports betting market in the Pelican State will be going through a public comment period in the coming days. During the public participation window, comments from opposers of the rules will also be welcomed.

Mobile Sportsbooks and Betting in Bars to Launch Much Later – in Coming Months

Unfortunately, while retail sports wagering is planned to go live in October, bettors who have been waiting to place wagers via their smartphones will be forced to hang on some more. Johns, the chairperson of the gaming regulator of the Pelican State, said that it could even take a couple more months before mobile sports wagering is up and running. In his interview with the USA Today Network, he added that:

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“Mobile takes longer because the casinos use outside vendors to do that work, and those vendors haven’t been licensed yet, so they have to go through the suitability process and background checks with the State Police. We’re hoping to have some of those approved in a 60-day window.”

Likewise, placing sports bets via kiosks located in bars and restaurants that serve alcoholic drinks won’t happen until at least early next year. However, unlike in-person wagering in casinos and mobile sports betting, the operation of these kiosks is under the oversight of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation.

Rose Hudson, the President/CEO of the Lottery Corp, spoke to the USA Today Network and disclosed that the process of looking for vendors and setting up regulations to guide the kiosks is expected to be completed in November. The bars and restaurants in question will then be ready to start accepting sports wagers from patrons by the start of 2022.