Louisiana Sports Betting Handle Grows in August

The state of Louisiana published its sports betting results for August. As reported by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the state recorded an increase in sports betting handle for the period. This marked the end of the sports betting handle decline the Pelican State had been experiencing for the last few months.

Handle Increased for the First Time in Months

Sports betting revenues in Louisiana kept on gradually declining for the five months leading to August. Luckily, this negative streak was interrupted as the sports betting industry recorded a handle increase for the first time in a while.

In August, sports punters in the state wagered over $128.2 million on sports. This represents an 8.4% month-on-month increase compared to July’s results.

Taking a look at how retail shops performed, we see that people only spent around $16.2 million on betting with brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. This represents a 6.7% increase on July’s $15.2 million. The majority of bets were placed online as the state’s sportsbooks recorded a handle of over $112.1 million in August. This shows an 8.5% increase on July’s results when online operators reported $103.3 million in handle.

The overall results show that sports betting activity was reinvigorated with the approach of the NFL season.

Revenue Decline Is a Temporary Setback, Experts Say

However, things aren’t so rosy considering August was the second weakest month in terms of profits since the launch of sports betting in Louisiana. For reference, online revenues declined from $19.2 million in July to $7.3 million in August, representing a disastrous 62% decrease. Meanwhile, retail revenue increased significantly from $1.6 million in July to $2.2 million in August. This is notably the second strongest month for retail since May when the industry earned $2.7 million.

Overall, the industry’s revenues plummeted by 54.3% since July. While the retail sector turned in more profits, they weren’t enough to offset the lower online revenues. Finally, the industry paid $1.6 million in sports betting taxes. The larger part of this money came from the state’s online sports betting industry.

According to an earlier report from a few days ago, Louisiana’s sports betting industry has so far handled over $1.4 billion in sports bets. Despite the decline the state’s industry experienced from March to July, these results are still very favorable. In addition, analysts believe that Louisiana sports betting will record “some crazy numbers” during the ongoing National Football League season.