- Penn National Gaming has received approval to launch their Barstool Sportsbook platform for online and mobile sports betting in Louisiana.
- Retail, mobile and online sports betting is now available in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes.
- The Barstool Sportsbook app and website are expected to go live on Friday, January 28 at 8 AM Central Time.
Sports betting in Louisiana is shaping up to be a mixed bag. The biggest issue is the ‘parish level’ approval process (a ‘parish’ in Louisiana is basically the same thing as a county everywhere else in the United States). Sports betting was put to a referendum on a parish by parish basis and 55 of 64 of them voted to approve it. This arrangement not only prohibits retail sports betting in the nine parishes that voted it down, it also prohibits the unfortunate residents of these cultural backwaters from mobile and/or online play. Can you imagine how pissed off you would be if you lived in one of these places? Not only would you lack running water, an education past the third grade or teeth you’d have to leave the parish just to place a sports bet. The Louisiana parishes where sports betting is prohibited are Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, Jackson, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll and Winn. Interestingly, all of these counties have a poverty rate in excess of 20% except for LaSalle (19.5%) and Union (18.1%). Way to build up that economic base!
The good news is that in the remaining 55 counties the sports betting scene is shaping up to be pretty good. The tax rate is a bit higher than it should be: 10% for retail sports bets and 15% for online/mobile wagers. Unfortunately, these rates are downright reasonable compared to the absurd tax rates in states like New York (51%) and Pennsylvania (36%). The state’s regulations are conducive to a competitive, player friendly environment–as currently constructed Louisiana will allow as many as 41 mobile/online sportsbooks. Mobile and online sports betting will go live at 8 AM Central Time on Friday, January 28. In addition to the 14 retail sportsbooks operating in Louisiana and the mobile platforms that are set to go live there will be another sports betting option forthcoming. Retail betting kiosks will be operated in restaurants and bars but unfortunately this will be under the auspices of the state lottery. No wonder it will be the last component of Louisiana’s sports betting to go live.
There should be at least six mobile betting platforms available on launch day including FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, Betfred, BetMGM and Barstool Sports. Penn National issued a press release confirming that they had received approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) to launch their Barstool Sportsbook branded platform. Barring any unforeseen last minute approvals that need to be completed, Barstool Sportsbook will launch on Friday. Penn National President and CEO Jay Snowden is excited to see his company’s sports betting brand in another market:
“We are thrilled to be launching our Barstool Sportsbook online sports betting product in Louisiana, which will provide our retail casino customers and mychoice loyalty program members another exciting way to enjoy our unique entertainment offerings. Louisiana marks the twelfth state where we operate the Barstool Sportsbook mobile app, and as in the other states, I’m confident that customers will enjoy engaging with Dave Portnoy, Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz and other Barstool fan favorites, and we’re offering a number of promotional wagers on the app to help celebrate the launch.”
“I want to thank the LGCB and their staff for their time and effort in reviewing and approving our application. We look forward to adding Louisiana to our portfolio of states where we operate online sports betting as we continue our Company’s evolution into the leading omni-channel provider of retail and online gaming, live racing and sports betting entertainment.”
Penn National owns five retail gaming properties in Louisiana: Boomtown Bossier City, Boomtown New Orleans, L’Auberge Baton Rouge, L’Auberge Lake Charles and Margaritaville Resort in Bossier City.
