By Victor Skinner | The Center Square contributor
Louisiana’s first full year of legal sports betting resulted in more than $1.8 billion in wagers, generating over $26.4 million in taxes for the state.
Louisiana sports betting in October hit a monthly record of $255.5 million, with $219 million coming from mobile bets and $36.4 million from retail sites. The wagers produced net proceeds of $4.2 million for retail and nearly $26 million for mobile, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
October marked the second consecutive month that operators cleared $30 million in gross revenue, following a record $32.3 million in September. The higher revenue in September stemmed from a 3.5% higher win percentage on about $212 million in total sports wagers.
In October, retail sports betting generated $410,561 in taxes, while mobile betting brought in nearly $3.9 million.
“Sports betting continues to move along very well with no problems,” Ronnie Johns, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said at the board’s monthly meeting last week.
Louisiana legalized retail sports betting beginning in November 2021, followed by mobile sports betting in January. The legislation allowed mobile operators to claim up to $5 million in promotional credits, and most used up the allowance early in the year, resulting in increased tax revenues over the last six months.
In the first two months of 2022, mobile operators deducted more than $21 million in tax credits, compared to just $1.2 million since July.
That reality means the state has collected nearly the same amount – $11 million in taxes – from mobile betting through the first four months of fiscal year 2023 as it did through the last six months of fiscal year 2022.
Mobile operators generated the most revenue from parlay at $96 million since January 2022, followed by $19.9 million in football proceeds, $16.9 million from baseball, $13.3 million from “other” sports, $13 million from basketball, and $2.3 million from soccer.
Retail sports betting also generated the most proceeds from parlay at $22.8 million, with football in second at $7 million, followed by “other” sports at $2.2 million, baseball at $1.8 million, basketball at $1.7 million, and soccer at $246,827 since November 2021.
In total, football wagers alone generated $26.4 million in total revenue through the first full year of sports betting in Louisiana.
Since January 2022, the hold for mobile sports betting ranged from negative 22.3% in the first month due to promotional spending to a high of 18.6% in July. The hold eclipsed 10% in five of the last 10 months, with an overall win percentage of 8.1% in fiscal year 2022, and 13% in fiscal year 2023.
The hold for retail sports betting ranged from 20.4% in November 2021 to 2.3% in February 2021, with the win percentage above 10% for eight of the last 12 months. The overall hold for last fiscal year was 9.5%, compared to 13% so far in fiscal year 2023.