Louisiana casinos are applying en masse for a sports betting license.
Thirteen of the twenty traditional Louisiana casinos have already applied to manage sports betting – the other seven are expected to apply before the January 1, 2022 deadline – and the first applicants are close to being able to start booking bets on baseball, football and other events.
The principal gambling regulator, Ronnie Johns, has the power to sign a “temporary certificate of operation” which would immediately allow a casino to start offering sports betting, at least for in-person and on-site betting.
“It’s possible, but I seriously doubt I’ll have any to sign in the next couple of weeks,” said Johns, who chairs the Gaming Control Board. “But very soon I will be issuing recommendations.”
The Gcb is still awaiting the results of the control required by the Louisiana State Police on operators, personnel and procedures. Casinos are required to create a lounge that restricts access to bettors aged 21 and over. All these safety plans and procedures also need to be reviewed.
Johns notes that Hurricane Ida delayed the process by about two weeks as the military carrying out the investigation were reassigned to rescue and recovery from the storm. Now they are back to doing the required fitness studies on sports betting applications.
Many of the casinos are ready to go once the paperwork is done, second Wade Duty, executive director of the Louisiana Casino Association. The Baton Rouge-based organization is the trade association for the twenty so-called “brick and mortar” establishments that the state has licensed and that operate casinos on riverboats, racecourses and, in New Orleans, ashore.
Initially, bets will only be accepted in temporary sports betting rooms within a casino, Duty said. Many casinos are building multi-million dollar facilities with televisions and other amenities. The 80 pages of new laws and 30 pages of new regulations will also allow sports betting on smartphones and computers.
Each of the twenty casinos will contract with two vendors to manage geofencing, software and other betting equipment over the phone and online. Unlike casinos, which have already been investigated by the State Police, contractors need a complete overhaul that takes time, Duty said.
Furthermore, the Louisiana Lottery Corp. has been authorized to supervise sports betting kiosks that will be placed in bars and restaurants serving alcohol. The Llc is still working on its rules and does not expect to be active until January or later.
THE TRIBAL CASINOS – Meanwhile, the Paragon Casino Resort, owned by the Tunica-Biloxi tribe of Louisiana south of Marksville, it opened its betting shop on Wednesday. Several television stations showed Joe Horn, the retired wide receiver of the New Orleans Saints, entering the new casino space and placing the first bet. Horn played a longshot parlay with a big payout, in which Horn had to pick winners in seven games to win his bet.
Paragon and four other Louisiana casinos owned by Native American tribesi are licensed by the federal government and not regulated by the state. Their pacts allow Native American casinos to run state-approved games. Furthermore, those casinos pay no state taxes and do not comply with state laws.
THE LEGALIZATION OF BETTING – In November 2020, 55 voters of Louisiana’s 64 departments approved licensing for sports betting in their territory. Earlier this year, the Louisiana Legislature and Governor John Bel Edwards established laws explaining how sports betting will be authorized, managed and taxed.
The bets would be taxed at 10 percent, if bets are placed in the sports betting halls of casinos e 15 percent on mobile phones or websites. Taxes will be on net proceeds – the amount left over after bets are covered – and will be paid by the licensees.
It is expected that the game will contribute $ 644.2 million in revenue, not including the proceeds from sports betting, to the budget for this fiscal year. Behind income and sales taxes, gambling is the largest contributor to the state’s $ 9.9 billion general fund.
