Louisiana Sports Betting Launch Date Moved
Bettors across the state of Louisiana have a new date to look forward to as the date is set for November 1st. Louisiana’s Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns believes that retail sports betting will be launched by the given date to join the industry. He met with the Louisiana State Police back on Thursday in regards to an update on the required background investigations.
Louisiana is Experiencing Another Delay in Joining the Sports Betting Industry
There are a lot of things to cover as a lot of caution takes place when launching something of this magnitude. Operators that will begin to take wagers will have to abide by the rules and regulations. Johns stated that
“I’m pushing hard for November 1…I’m staying close to my office, I want to sign those licenses as soon as possible.”
At the same time, regulators don’t want any issues to further delay the launch but want everything to run as according to plan. Regulators also want to avoid handing out licenses one at a time as they would much rather have them launched by the handful to get more people interested.
Louisiana sports betting legislation created and is allowing up to twenty licenses for the state’s casinos and racinos. At this moment, thirteen companies have signed up for a license application to operate in the state. It’s a first come, first served type of agreement as the earliest applications will have the top priority as the new launch date approaches.
Why the Previous Launch Date Were Halted
Just like the other states that delayed their launch there are many factors. Louisiana was dealing with Hurricane Ida that affected the state. Hurricane Ida making landfall in the state caused severe damage and forced State Troopers to relocate and swayed their attention elsewhere. This catastrophe made the previous potential launch date of October 1st impossible to get to.
Despite the numerous postponements, the tribal-owned Paragon Casino secured a Betfred Sportsbook earlier this month.Since the opening of the new sportsbook was on native property, Johns did not have a say or the need to sign off on the procedure. Instead he believes this is a great start and a good addition to the state’s goal of joining the sports betting community.
Johns is optimistic about sports betting entering the state but mobile or online sports gambling may take some time. According to Louisiana’s sports betting legislation, each of the twenty licenses can operate up to two additional skins. This will lead to the regulators working overtime as there are more things they have to monitor.
There will most likely be a trial that will be taking place similar to Connecticut’s soft launch. There will also most likely be limited customers and operators, and if successful, the mobile launch will happen quickly.
The board members have also signed off on the $22 million sale of Harrah’s Louisiana Downs from Caesars Entertainment and VICI Properties to Rubico Acquisition and will not introduce sports betting at that specific location.
FanDuel will also be joining DraftKings as the two companies will be daily fantasy sports operators in Louisiana. DraftKings had to wait three years to get the license to launch daily fantasy in the state.
Caesar Sportsbook also launched its app in Louisiana as a way to promote its brand before other entities join the market, but potential customers can’t bet on the platform as of right now.
