Louisiana was one of the more recent additions to the list of states in which sports betting is legal, with first commercial sports betting licenses issued by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) in late October.
The LGCB issued four new licenses before the Thanksgiving holiday. L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles, Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel & Casino, Boomtown Bossier City Casino and the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City are each now licensed to offer sports betting, according to a report by WDSU-TV in New Orleans.
The four casinos will join the Caesars Sportsbook properties at Harrah’s New Orleans and Horseshoe Bossier City, and the Penn National Gaming sportsbooks at Boomtown New Orleans Casino in Harvey and the L’Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge, which were licensed by the LGCB at the start of November.
So far, a total of 10 commercial casinos have applied for betting licenses. LGCB Chairman Ronnie Johns said another five properties plan to apply for their licenses before the end of the year.
All of the casinos will be able to host up to two online sports betting skins under their licenses, with mobile betting planned to launch in Louisiana in January, ahead of the NFL playoffs.
Online betting coming to Louisiana
Online gambling has been on a massive uptick in recent years, with more and more states issuing licenses for operators to take online action, especially in the sports betting sector.
Louisiana is one of the states that should have real money mobile betting launch in early 2022, to the great satisfaction of the numerous sports fans in the Pelican State.
Major sports betting brands such as DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars Sportsbook have all pre-launched their mobile betting apps in Louisiana in preparation for the big day. Players can now register on the apps. While real money betting is not yet available, creating an account now will allow for easy access once real money online betting launches in the state.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel launched their popular daily fantasy products in Louisiana and will be among the first to accept real money bets in the state, along with Caesars Sportsbook.
Others, such as PointsBet, Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Bally Bet, and TwinSpires are also expected to look for opportunities in Louisiana in partnership with various commercial and tribal casinos.
More betting licenses to come
As we enter the last month of the year, Louisiana’s commercial casinos that are not yet licensed for sports betting will be looking to close out their bids and apply to the LGCB before the deadline, which is quickly approaching.
By the end of the year, the LGCB should see these take care of these applications and give out additional licenses, provided the applicants are able to meet all the requirements.
Starting in January 2022, the focus of the LGCB will shift toward online products, as the first real money mobile betting apps should go live before January is over, representing the completion of the sports betting licensing process in Louisiana.
