GitLab

Online sportsbooks can lawfully begin taking bets in Louisiana on Friday early morning, joining their brick-and-mortar cousins that are currently accepting wagers from players in the Pelican State.

" [Louisiana Gaming Control Board] Chairman Ronnie Johns reveals that presently qualified sports betting operators will be approved to accept mobile bets as early as 8:00 a.m. Friday morning," a news release stated Wednesday. "The remaining mobile sports wagering operators remain in the procedure of meeting statutory and regulative requirements and will be approved once those requirements are fulfilled."

One operator that intends on taking wagers on Friday in Louisiana is Caesars Sportsbook. The bookmaker's owner, Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment Inc., operates casinos in the southern state that already provide retail sports banking on their properties.

"We've seen significant interest in legal sports betting because the opening of our Caesars Sportsbooks at Harrah's New Orleans and Horseshoe Bossier City," said Eric Hession, co-president of Caesars Digital, in a declaration. "Come Friday, through the app, we'll have the ability to provide a lot more chances to experience the excitement of sports wagering."

Other mobile sportsbooks anticipated to go live in Louisiana on Friday include BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

More broadly, though, Wednesday's news will add another state to the growing map of places where online sports betting is legal and functional in the U.S. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board's announcement also suggests that online sports betting will be licensed in time for the next round of the National Football League's playoffs and the Super Bowl thereafter.

Prep work

Voters in 55 of Louisiana's 64 parishes (similar to counties) voted in favor of permitting sports wagering back in November 2020. Lawmakers then passed legislation in 2015 permitting the gaming control board to release approximately 20 licenses for in-person and online sportsbooks, with choice given towards the state's gambling establishments and live horse-racing tracks. The Louisiana Lottery Corp. is permitted to take sports wagers via site, mobile app, and retail kiosks also.

In-person sports wagering has currently started at several gambling establishments throughout Louisiana. Online wagering, however, has required a bit more effort and time from regulators to make sure things run efficiently and in accordance with the state's sports-betting rules.

Gaming Control Panel Chairman Ronnie Johns informed Covers just recently that regulators were getting close to presenting online sports wagering. At the time, though, Johns said that they wished to ensure a good experience for bettors and couldn't guarantee mobile betting would be up and running in time for the Super Bowl. That is no longer the case.

While the main licensees in Louisiana will be the owners and operators of brick-and-mortar centers, the consumer-facing brand names for mobile wagering will be some of the most significant names in the organization. That's because licensees can likewise partner with approximately 2 platform companies for online sports betting, each of which are enabled to use their own separately branded site and mobile app in the state.

Some sportsbook operators had actually begun ahead of the main launch of online wagering. For instance, Caesars Entertainment announced in October that its Caesars Sportsbook app was officially available for gamblers to download, but so they might sign up, deposit funds, and start inspecting odds. WynnBET announced on Wednesday that it was also permitting pre-registration and deposits in the state.