The state of Louisiana continues to move closer and closer to the launch of legal sports betting. With the proper legislation in place, the next part of the process is setting up the rules for regulation. Conservative estimates still suggest that things will be up and running sometime this football season.
How Is Louisiana Gearing Up For Legal Sports Betting?
Certain businesses and casino resorts near Louisiana are moving in that direction. All of the licensed riverboat casinos and racinos will offer a retail sportsbook. The lone land-based Harrah’s casino in New Orleans will also offer a legal retail book.
Online sports betting will be made available by the Louisiana Lottery Corp. This will consist of a mobile betting app as well as betting kiosks in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. Nola.com in conjunction with theadvocate.com will launch a new sports-betting website. The Times-Picayune is also part of this venture.
This site will offer relevant content for sports betting as well as offer digital sports betting shows. The local sports talk radio station in town is 104.5 ESPN. Jimmy Ott has been hosting a daily gambling show. More recently, WBRZ started airing daily digital content from VSiN. This is the Vegas Sports Information Network.
Brian Musburger is the founder and current CEO of VSiN. He was quoted as follows when it comes to legal sports betting in the state:
“They know the numbers are going to be big in Louisiana. They’re smart to get out ahead of it. There are a lot of passionate sports fans licking their chops for sports betting. It’s going to be a big number.”
Spanning out 10 years, market estimates are between $2 and $2.6 billion in overall revenue. College football should be a huge draw on Saturdays given strong ties to the SEC. The NFL’s New Orleans Saints will be the hometown professional football team.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board will oversee the regulatory aspect of the sports betting industry. It could still take a few months to work through the process. Rules are expected to be released in August or September.
Once published, casino and mobile gaming operators can begin the licensing process. This could add another three months to the process. The Louisiana State Police needs to conduct its investigations and process the applications.
Given the current timeline, the first legal sports bets in the state might be placed in November or December. This would capture the tail end of the NFL regular season. The college bowl season in December and early January would also come into play.
The law allows casinos and racinos to operate two branded mobile betting apps. Boyd Gaming is one of the biggest operators in the state. This is the parent company of Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner. The company also runs Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino in Opelousas.
The short list of other Boyd Gaming properties include:
