Online Sports Betting to Legally Start in Louisiana On Friday

Online sportsbooks can legally start taking bets in Louisiana on Friday 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 announces that presently qualified sports wagering operators will be approved to accept mobile bets as early as 8:00 a.m. Friday morning," a press release said Wednesday. "The staying mobile sports wagering operators are in the process of meeting statutory and regulatory requirements and will be authorized once those requirements are satisfied."


One operator that prepares on taking wagers on Friday in Louisiana is Caesars Sportsbook. The bookmaker's owner, Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment Inc., runs casinos in the southern state that currently use retail sports betting on their properties.


"We have actually seen incredible interest in legal sports wagering 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 statement. "Come Friday, through the app, we'll be able to use even more opportunities to experience the adventure of sports betting."


Other mobile sportsbooks anticipated to go reside in Louisiana on Friday consist of BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.


More broadly, however, Wednesday's news will include another state to the growing map of locations where online sports wagering is legal and functional in the U.S. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board's statement also suggests that online sports wagering will be licensed in time for the next round of the National Football League's playoffs and the Super Bowl afterwards.


Prep work


Voters in 55 of Louisiana's 64 parishes (comparable to counties) enacted favor of allowing sports betting back in November 2020.