- DraftKings has launched their mobile sports betting app in Louisiana.
- Louisiana is the 17th state in which DraftKings’ mobile app is available.
- DraftKings opened a retail sportsbook at the Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles in late 2021.
Since mobile sports betting went ‘live’ in Louisiana on Friday, January 28 we’ve got a number of confirmed launches from the major sports betting companies. Already up and running are Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook , Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers Sportsbook brand , Caesars Entertainment’s Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM and Flutter plc’s FanDuel brand in partnership with Boyd Gaming. Also entering the Louisiana market is FanDuel’s longtime rival dating back to their origins as DFS companies, DraftKings.
The DraftKings mobile sportsbook launched at 8 AM Central on Friday, January 28 and their entry into the Louisiana market puts them in 17 US states with mobile betting: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon (through the Oregon Lottery so this barely counts), Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Throw in the ‘retail only’ state of Mississippi and DraftKings is now available in 18 US states.
DraftKings opened a retail sportsbook at the Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles in November and also offers their daily fantasy sports app in Louisiana. Here’s what the press release had to say about their Louisiana retail presence:
Since the Louisiana retail sportsbook launch in November 2021, NFL teams have been the most popular among local bettors with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams taking the most action. A five-team NFL parlay during Week 17 stands as the largest winning wager among Louisiana retail bettors where a $1,000 wager netted $72,000 in winnings. DraftKings’ football wagering popularity also reigns at the collegiate level as the 2022 College Football National Championship between Georgia and Alabama on January 10th ranks as the most heavily bet event to date.
DraftKings even offered up a quote from Matt Kalish, co-founder and president of DraftKings North America:
“There have been several DraftKings developments in Louisiana in the last year alone, including the debut of our daily fantasy products and retail sportsbook, and this latest online sportsbook launch is another significant milestone. Although Louisiana bettors have previously been able to place wagers in person at our Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles location, the arrival of mobile betting greatly enhances accessibility and adoption potential within the Pelican State.”
Lake Charles is in the southwest part of Louisiana and is actually closer to Houston, Texas (143 miles away) than New Orleans (206 miles away). There are now four gaming properties in Calcasieu Parish–there used to be a Harrah’s Lake Charles but it closed in 2005. In addition to the Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles there’s L’auberge Casino Resort (owned by Penn National), and Delta Downs Racetrack & Casino (owned by Boyd Gaming). Isle of Capri Casino Lake Charles (owned by Caesars Entertainment) is currently closed for remodeling and rebranding and should re-open later this year as the Horseshoe Lake Charles.
That makes six confirmed mobile betting launches in Louisiana and you can expect more this week. Betfred Sports has a retail sportsbook at the Paragon Casino Resort and their website indicates that mobile betting is forthcoming.
