The Louisiana Gaming Control Chairman Ronnie Johns hopes to launch online sports betting in the state before Super Bowl LVI takes place. For now, three sportsbooks that received approved licenses to operate inside Louisiana casinos are not open but should be running very soon.
The Three casinos Will Feature FanDuel Sportsbook In Their Specific Location
The three locations featuring FanDuel Sportsbook in their locations are Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino in Shreveport, the Amelia Belle Casino near Morgan City, and Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel near Opelousa. Before accepting wagers on different sporting events, all the locations are awaiting the opening of retail sportsbooks to happen first.
The three locations are owned by Nevada-based Boyd Gaming that will have a space dedicated to FanDuel Sportsbook. Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino and Amelia Belle Casino are both Riverboat casinos. On the other hand, Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel is a land-based horse track.
All three locations that the Nevada-based Boyd Gaming owns are three of the thirteen sportsbooks that have received licenses to conduct business within the state’s borders. The other ten sportsbooks are already running in casino attractions like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Shreveport-Bossier City.
Johns has been on board since sports betting operators got the green light to jumpstart the market. He wanted to approve as many licenses as possible after successfully doing all the necessary background checks earlier this year.
At least two more sportsbook licenses are expected to be handed out to casinos for the foreseeable future. Other state-regulated casinos will have until the end of the month to apply for an on-site sportsbook license.
Voters In The Saint Tammany Parish Reject The Casino Proposal
Thirteen riverboat casinos are operating across the state. New Orleans is home to a land-based hotel-casino, and four racetracks have the permission to use slot machines as part of its business.
Two casinos are currently not in operation but are scheduled to reopen in 2022. Hurricane Ida caused a lot of destruction in the state and damaged a riverboat casino in Lake Charles is also on pace to open in 2022 as a land-based casino. One other casino license holder that goes by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, or P2E for short, had hoped to build a land-based waterfront hotel-casino near Slidell.
However, the plan was rejected by voters in the Saint Tammany Parish as a few parishes across the state have dismissed anything related to gambling. This specific parish rejected a casino proposal on Saturday.
The company has up to sixty days to decide if it wants to reopen a riverboat casino where the operation started, located on Red River in Bossier City.
Many sportsbook operators are anticipating the launch of mobile sports betting in the state before the Super Bowl in February. At this moment, sports bettors must be inside a gaming facility to place a wager due to the geofencing restrictions.
Under a bill Gov. John Bel Edwards signed in the summer, the twenty casinos-approved license holders can operate up to two mobile betting platform skins. The Louisiana Lottery Corp. will be allowed to operate only one sport betting skin as part of the law.
However, the Louisiana Lottery Corp is in charge of overseeing bettors’ operation, placing wagers through kiosks scattered throughout bars and restaurants with liquor licenses so that the operation runs smoothly. Sports betting kiosks are expected to be up and running by early next year.