CAESARS SPORTSBOOK ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP IN LOUISIANA

The major legal gambling operator Caesars Sportsbook is making a play for Louisiana sports betting. A few days ago, it was announced that Caesars is set to become Louisiana State University’s exclusive gaming and sportsbook partner. The finalized permanent rules for Louisiana sports betting were also set a few days ago by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

As of this writing, it is known that eight of Louisiana’s twenty potential licensees have applied for a Louisiana sports betting license. According to the chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Louisiana sports betting could be launching as soon as a couple weeks from now on October 1st.

The third-party rights holder for Louisiana State University, which is Playfly Sports, has negotiated this deal. Both alumni and fan engagement were prioritized when brokering this arrangement.

A big boon from the deal could be the Caesars Sportsbook Skyline Club at Tiger Stadium. This also includes signage that would appear throughout Tiger Stadium.

Signage for Caesars Sportsbook will also appear at Alex Box Stadium as well as at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. And, the Caesars Sportsbook will also gain a presence on the Louisiana State University Sports Mobile App. This partnership will also give Caesars visibility across the varsity sports programs, which includes 21 programs for both men and women.

In addition, Caesars will also be creating a scholarship fund that will support Louisiana students that will be awarded annually. However, due to the company’s commitment to responsible legal gambling, it claims it will not be marketing towards students or any fans under the legal gambling age. The legal gambling age is 21 in the state of Louisiana.

The Louisiana State University Athletics Director Scott Woodward is excited to continue LSU’s tradition of providing fans with unique and innovative experiences. He hopes the new partnership will be able to provide this same kind of world-class experience for their fans. He believes the company and LSU share a vision for how athletics and entertainment can join to deliver an elevated fan experience.

Meanwhile, the Digital Co-President of Caesars, Chris Holdren, believes that the Athletics programs at LSU have always been the vision of excellence. He is excited about the partnership as a result. Caesars is proud of the legacy that it already has in Louisiana at this time. And, the company looks forward to bringing LSU alumni and fans even closer to the sports action while also being able to offer a new scholarship opportunity to help the community.

The CEO of Playfly Sports, Michael Schreiber, was already a proud partner of LSU Athletics. He is excited about the opportunity to forge this innovative partnership. He believes it will engage sponsors as well as help to unlock exciting new sources of revenue for the company. He also made sure to note that the company is interested in bringing Caesars Sportsbook and Louisiana State University together responsibly.

Caesars does appear to be making a huge play for a big share of the Louisiana sports betting market. This can be demonstrated by the investments that Caesar is making in its properties in Louisiana. These include:

• Isle of Capri Lake Charles
• Harrah’s New Orleans
• Horseshoe Lake Charles

In addition, Caesars has secured the naming rights to the home of the New Orleans Saints as well as many Louisiana college football games, the Superdome.

There have been other partnerships emerging in the college sports world in the United States as of late. Recently, Caesars has partnered with the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, which is its second sports entity in that state. The partnership with the Arizona college football game is in addition to its market access deal that it already has with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Back in September 2020, PointsBet also made a play for the college sports partnership market in Colorado. PointsBet entered into a partnership with the University of Colorado. This past month saw Superbook entering into a partnership with the University of Denver.There have also been some long standing partnerships in the college sports world in the United States. Caesars has had a long relationship with both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno.

However, not everyone is thrilled about these collegiate sportsbook partnerships. The President of the NCAA, Mark Emmert has not thrown his support behind these kinds of partnerships in the past. Back in 2019, he stated that he believed sports betting was going to have a major impact on the college sports world.

He indicated that he was worried about the integrity of the institution. And believed that they needed to act strongly to protect this integrity.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.