THE FIRST COMMERCIAL CASINOS IN LOUISIANA RECEIVE THEIR SPORTS BETTING LICENSES

The first commercial casinos in Louisiana have received their sports betting licenses, marking a big move in Louisiana sports betting. The Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Ronnie Johns, has signed these sports betting licenses for the state this past Friday. There are four casinos that have received their sports betting licenses.

These casinos are:

• The Horseshoe Casino (Caesars Sportsbook)
• Harrah’s New Orleans (Caesars Sportsbook)
• The Boomtown Casino (Penn National Gaming)
• L’Auberge Casino (Penn National Gaming)

With these issued licenses, these four casinos have been able to open their retail sportsbooks as of this past Sunday morning. The Horseshoe Casino and Harrah’s New Orleans, both with Caesars Sportsbooks, have taken advantage of that ability. However, there are still nine licenses that are being reviewed by the Louisiana State Police.

Chairman Ronnie Johns expressed his excitement over the progress for Louisiana sports betting. The recommendation from Louisiana’s state police was sent over on Friday morning. So, Johns is hopeful that they will be able to roll out another batch of licenses in the next few days.

Johns indicated that he felt this past Sunday was a great time for the sports betting rollout as the New Orleans Saints would be playing Tampa Bay in New Orleans on the same day. Both the Boomtown Casino, near New Orleans, and L’Auberge Casino, in Baton Rouge, are set to launch their sportsbooks on Monday, November 1st. Instead of being called a Barstool Sportsbook, the sportsbook at the L’Auberge will be called “The Sportsbook at L’Auberge.”

It is important to remember that these are not the first retail sportsbooks in the state. Back in October, the tribal-owned Paragon Casino opened a Betfred Sportsbook. The casino did not need approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board because it is located on tribal land.

Regulators in Louisiana had hoped to launch state-wide sports betting back in September. However, Hurricane Ida delayed the process when it made landfall in the state. Because Louisiana State Police troopers are needed to perform the background investigations for the applications, this delayed the application review process.

The troopers were pulled off of these gaming duties in order to help with the emergency response to the hurricane. However, by the end of September, the troopers needed for the gaming application process were back at it.

According to Ronnie Johns, thirteen of the twenty casinos and racinos that are eligible for Louisiana sports betting licenses had applied for licenses. The twenty licenses are able to receive two online skins. He also stated that the goal for a mobile sports betting launch in the state is January 1st, 2022. That launch will include both DraftKings as well as FanDuel.

Johns expressed his confidence in the two companies as they are two major sports betting operators who have been able to receive licenses in most states with legal sports betting. And, while it will be a longer process to license mobile operators, their standing in other states will be a boon to their application process. Johns feels that the key to making Louisiana sports betting a success will be mobile sports betting in the state.

The operator who has made the biggest push to dominate the Louisiana sports betting market has been the Caesars Sportsbook. Caesars has made its presence known through a good amount of partnerships that the company has made with both teams as well as media organizations in Louisiana. However, the long race to be the first company to launch daily fantasy sports in Louisiana was won by DraftKings this past summer. Meanwhile, FanDuel received its daily fantasy sports license in the state in October.

There are other sportsbook operators with a foot in the Louisiana market. The frontrunners are: Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, WynnBET, PointsBet, TwinSpires, and Bally Bet.

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