Louisiana Mobile Sports Betting Outperforms Larger States in Debut, GeoComply Says

Five Apps Up and Running in Louisiana

The mobile launch came more than two months after the first brick-and-mortar sportsbooks opened in the state.

Currently, five mobile operators are active in Louisiana. They are Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and BetRivers.

Caesars, which operates four casinos in Louisiana, has taken to position itself and become the market leader. That includes acquiring naming rights for the Superdome, landing the Manning family as brand ambassadors, and securing a multi-year partnership with LSU athletics – although that deal came under some scrutiny in recent days after in an email promoting the launch of the Caesars app in the state.

Like most states, sports betting is restricted to people age 21 and older.

The state can approve two skins for each of the 20 casinos in the state. Others expected to launch in the coming months include TwinSpires, WynnBet, and Betfred.

Not Legal in All Parishes

Louisiana legalized sports betting in November 2020, when voters approved a referendum on the general election ballot. However, the measure did not approve online apps or brick-and-mortar sportsbooks statewide.

Each of the 64 parishes within the state held its own election on the issue during the Nov. 3, 2020, election. Voters in 55 parishes approved the measure, which allowed for sports betting to become legal in those communities once the state passed regulations.

Voters in nine parishes rejected sports betting, which meant that even mobile wagering would not be allowed in those jurisdictions. That added an extra wrinkle for GeoComply, which needed to make sure that people in those parishes could not place bets on their computers or mobile devices.

According to GeoComply, more than two-thirds of the transactions it tracked took place in the southeastern corner. That region includes New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the state’s two largest metro areas.