In September, Louisiana’s casino gaming industry saw a slight increase in revenue from August month-over-month.
For sports betting, the rise has been much more dramatic.
September’s sports betting handle, or amount wagered, jumped about $80 million from the previous month. And Louisiana’s August financial report revenue more than tripled in September.
As for casinos, they rebounded after a month of decline in August (the lowest revenue total of 2022) with an increase of almost $8 million in September.
Online sports betting was launched in January in Louisiana, but there are no gambling sites in the state for casino games.
Sports betting on Louisiana, September vs August
Football helps boost sports betting in Louisiana
The New Orleans Saints, LSU Tigers and Tulane Green Wave hit the grill in September, giving Louisiana sports betting a boost.
September’s sports betting total was $207,501,595 in Bayou State, a 61.8% increase from August’s $128.25 million. That September total was also nearly double the amount shown in Louisiana’s July revenue numbers — the handful (mobile and retail combined) was just $118 million.
As always since the emergence of online options for sports betting in January, this part of the market has dominated. Last month, the handful of mobile sportsbooks was around $176 million, or 85% of the market.
Even the retail amount wagered nearly doubled from $16.2 million in August to $31.5 million.
Sports betting revenue rose from $9.46 million in August to $31,894,674 in September (including $27.1 million from online betting), an increase of 237.2%. Taxes from sports betting amounted to $3.87 million for September, just over double the $1.77 million in August.
Total football revenue in September topped $7 million.
The $31.9 million in revenue was the highest for sports betting in the state since the legal market launched, edging out the $30.1 million reported by the Louisiana Games Scoreboard in March.
At a meeting on Thursday, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved WynnBet for a five-year mobile sports betting license in the Bayou State.
Louisiana Casino Revenue Breakdown
Despite the popularity of mobile sports betting in the state, Louisiana is not even closer to offering iGaming options such as online roulette, blackjack or poker.
So, for now, the state offers river casinos, a land-based casino, racinos (slot machines at racetracks), and video game terminals.
Land-based casino Harrah’s New Orleans saw the biggest jump in August revenue, rising 18.6% to $22.9 million in September. The state’s 13 operating river casinos combined for a 4.5% increase to $140.7 million last month. Racinos rose 0.6% from $25.385 million to $25.528 million, and VGTs were the only gaming sector in Louisiana to see a drop in revenue. The more than 12,000 machines – placed in hotels, bars, restaurants, roadhouses and off-track betting facilities across the state, fell 2.8% from $64.2 million in August to $62.39 million last month.
The Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner, just outside of New Orleans, has begun the process of moving to a land-based facility. The $100 million development is expected to open in 2024, and the riverboat will continue operations until the new facility is ready, NOLA.com reported. Boyd Gaming will run the new casino, which will have a FanDuel Sportsbook and 47,000 square feet of gaming space.
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