Louisiana Sports Betting Handle Reached $350M In March

Louisiana reported a sports betting handle of $350 million and a total of $37.7 million in gross revenue in March. Taxes paid to the state from mobile sports betting totaled $4.7 million, an increase from the $3.6 million paid in February.

Louisiana reported a $350 million handle in March, the 10th highest among U.S. states 

The Creole State finished March with the 10th-highest handle, trailing New York ($1.85 billion), New Jersey ($1.33 billion), Pennsylvania ($800.7 million), North Carolina ($659.3 million), Massachusetts ($654.9 million), Maryland ($536.7 million), Indiana ($500.8 million), Michigan ($497.6 million), and Tennessee ($472 million).

Out of the total handle, the majority (about $319.4 million) was wagered online, whereas approximately $30.6 million was bet at retail books. Online sportsbooks collected $31.7 million in revenue, while retail books contributed $2.1 million.

Louisiana’s $350 million handle was the third largest in 29 months of legal betting in the state, following last December’s $377 million and last November’s $356.5 million, per Gaming Today.

The hold attained from 18 retail books and nine sports betting apps was the highest among 21 states that reported handle and revenue data for March. 

New online sportsbooks entered the Bayou State’s marketplace in 2023 — including bet365, Betway, and ClutchBet in January. This led to a 43.1% increase in wagers placed last month compared to March 2023.

Louisiana, Oregon remain the only two states with a hold of 10% or higher in all three months of 2024

Furthermore, Louisiana’s 10.8% hold rate in March extended the state’s double-digit streak of at least 10% to three straight months, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB).

Louisiana and Oregon are the only two states in which legal operators have reported a 10% or higher hold in each of the first three months of 2024.

Although the state exceeded expectations in March, the hold was the lowest collective win rate for Louisiana licensed operators in 2024. The state saw a win rate of 15.2% in January and a 11.3% hold in February.

According to Chris Altruda of Sports Handle, the Pelican State’s all-time handle surpassed $6 billion, and the $971.1 million placed in total wagers in the first quarter of 2024 is up 33.2% from the same span last year.

In 2023, Louisiana posted $2.91 billion in handle. The state’s operators collected roughly $367 million in revenue and about $36 million in tax revenue. 

The Boyou State’s ban on player props in college sports goes into effect on Aug. 1, 2024

Earlier this month, Louisiana joined Maryland, Ohio, and Vermont as states to institute a ban on player props in college athletics. The ban will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2024. 

Since revenue earned from player props represents only a miniscule amount, sportsbooks are not as concerned moving forward.  

NCAA president Charlie Baker requested that all states with legalized sports betting operators to ban player props in college sports, citing the importance of responsible gambling and protecting the integrity of the game.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in a statement. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats, and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”

LGCB chairman Ronnie Johns is also aiming to protect the integrity of sports betting and safety of NCAA athletes. 

“Our staff began to work on this weeks ago, well ahead of the NCAA’s call for action on college proposition bets. It is the intention of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting as well as the safety and integrity of college athletes,” Johns said in a statement. “We feel that this order accomplishes that goal.”