Louisiana's online sports betting to start mid-January, says Gaming Control Board Chair

Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns expressed his expectation to have online sports betting in the state up and running before Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, as reported by Saturday Down South. 

The gaming board chairman gave an estimated date for the launch around mid-January. Johns said he expects several sportsbooks to be licensed by then.

“My goal as of today is going to be mid-January for a number of the licensees that have applied. Some applied later than others, but we’ve taken them in order they’ve sent their applications in”, he told the publication, and pointed out that the pace of this process is going to be dependent on how quickly they respond to state police’s compliance inquiries. 

The properties need to be inspected by the Louisiana State Police prior to receiving their online licenses. Additionally, internal controls need to be verified and compliance inquiries need to be made before licenses can be approved. 

“Some properties are a lot more anxious to get started than others. But I’ll tell you, I was astounded by the October and November numbers we saw for New Jersey. $1.3 billion bet in New Jersey alone in one month. We realize where the action is and we’re pushing hard to get it done as quickly as we can”. 

The state currently has 13 entities licensed and offering in-person sports betting in their facilities. An additional six facilities have applied for a license. All of them are running sportsbooks out of temporary facilities, but several have already started their permanent buildouts as was required by the original bill. 

The state also included two mobile licenses in addition to the 20 brick-and-mortar sports betting licenses, which would mean a potential of 41 “skins” for Louisiana online sports betting, with one extra allotted to the Louisiana Lottery Corporation. 

So far, FanDuel and DraftKings currently offer Daily Fantasy Sports contests in the state and will also be part of the online sports betting launch as well. 

Caesars Entertainment has also been confirmed, as the sportsbook app is already available for download in the state. Users can not place bets yet, but can register and fund accounts. Caesars will offer in-person sports betting at its properties Harrah’s New Orleans and Horseshoe Bossier City at their temporary retail locations before the unveiling of their new Caesars Sportsbooks.

WynnBET will also be available in the state, as the company announced it secured online sports betting market access this past October. 

Barstool Sportsbook will most likely become part of the Louisiana online sports betting landscape as Penn National Gaming has partnered with two casinos that currently offer in-person sports betting. L’Auberge Casino Baton Rouge and Boomtown Casino Hotel both offer in-person sports betting and are Penn National Gaming properties.