- Louisiana’s state House approved SB 247, which would partner with another bill to legalize sports betting in the state.
- Amendments to SB 247 mean that it must be approved by the Senate one more time before heading to the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards.
- 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes approved sports betting.
BATON ROUGE, La. - The arduous process of approving sports betting in the state of Louisiana has moved a step closer to completion.
The Louisiana House approved Senate Bill 247 overwhelmingly on Thursday, with a vote tally of 78 in favor and 15 opposed.
However, the bill was passed with amendments attached to it - and those amendments require that it go back to the Senate for approval.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Stefanski, claimed to have attached those amendments with agreement from the sponsors of the bill in the Senate.
As long as Stefanski is correct about his assessment of the amendments, there should be no problem getting the amendments approved by the Senate.
Should the amendments to the bill make it through the Senate, it will join House Bill 697 to form the regulatory framework of sports betting in Louisiana.
Sports betting was approved by the voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, but statewide oversight was needed to set up a framework for how gambling like this would work.
SB 247 and HB 697 are the bills that set those ground rules.
Louisiana Sports Betting - Looking Ahead
Should Governor John Bel Edwards sign the bills, sports betting in Louisiana will look something like this:
The 20 existing casinos in Louisiana would be able to apply for online sports betting licenses. These licenses would be given out by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
The license application fee will be $250,000, and the license itself, which will last for five years, will cost $500,000. When one of these casinos receives a license, they can partner with up to two providers for online sports betting.
These partnerships will then be able to offer sports betting via mobile devices and via in-person betting locations such as casinos and kiosks.
Mobile bets will be geofenced, as only 55 of Louisiana’s parishes voted to approve sports betting - bettors will have to be in one of those parishes to bet online.
Mobile bets will have taxes of 15% levied on the net proceeds, while in-person betting locations will be taxed at 10%.
Overall, the future for online sports betting in Louisiana looks exceedingly bright, and the system could be up and running in as little as a few months - hopefully in time for football season.