The sports betting scene in the Pelican State has been largely a story of success and bigger numbers seem to always be right around the corner. This is great news, as the NFL and NBA are great at turning the dial up to 11.
Louisiana Bringing $1.4B Betting Handle
Louisiana launched sports betting and news of its success started flooding in from the beginning, with the first full month of sports betting in the state clocks in at $27.6 million worth of bets, as data from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board indicate. Now, almost nine months later, the total bets have climbed up to a whopping $1.4 billion being wagered in sports bets throughout the Pelican State.
American Press reported on Ronnie Johns speculating during the West Calcasieu Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday that “some crazy numbers” will be seen very soon, mentioning the start of the NFL. As per the American Press report, Johns has mentioned that seventeen out of a total of twenty licenses have already been issued, leaving some more room for growth in that sense as well.
As per the report, 58.5% of the tax revenue will be set aside for general state affairs, followed by 25% funding early childhood education, 10% for the local sports wagering allocation fund, uncapped 2.5% for the Sports Wagering Purse Supplemental Fund, and 2 percent or up to $500,000 for both the Sports Wagering Purse Supplemental Fund and Disability Affairs.
Sports Betting Success Story
January wasn’t the only other success story surrounding sports betting in Louisiana – it was simply the first. February followed the record-breaking $89.7 million from the previous month with an astonishing $238.4 million. The results from March were almost identical and the following months weren’t as impressive, with May’s betting handle sitting at $171.1 million, however, this was largely offset by a great 14.8% hold rate. These types of results are to be expected, not only with how and what you can bet on, but also as the novelty of mobile sports betting starts to slowly wear off, the activity becomes normalized, which is true regardless of micro-conditions. Of course, those still matter, with gross gaming revenue (GGR) from Harrah’s New Orleans and riverboat casinos sitting at a relatively tame $204.2 million, for example.
The story of sports betting in Louisiana, however, was rather tumultuous one, with delays plaguing the process through 2021. Of course, as soon as changes in the legislature were finalized, the general tone for the story was that of success, and the NFL season will most likely make that a very definitive statement when all is said and done for 2022.
The first half of the year saw the state collect approximately $13.1 million in tax revenue when the betting handle was sitting at close to $1.1 billion. This means that the 2022 tax revenue forecast of $30 million is definitely achievable, with the NFL and NBA seasons paving the way for making that look like a relatively conservative number. Many other states showed improvements or exceeded their projections from last year, such as Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, to name a few. H1 ended on 30, 2022, with the entire US sports betting market bringing in close to $3.04 billion in revenue, marking a 63.9% growth when compared to H1 2021, setting the industry on a course to break records by the end of this year.