Louisiana sets sports betting handle and revenue records in December

Players in Louisiana wagered $377.0m (£296.2m/€346.1m) on sports during December. This surpassed November’s record of $356.6m by 5.7% and also beat December 2022 by 48.0%.

Online bets for the month amounted to $344.9m, while a further $32.1m was spent betting on sports at retail sportsbooks. 

Revenue reaches record $55.8m in Louisiana 

Turning to revenue, this also reached a new monthly high of $55.8m in December. This beat the existing Louisiana record of $43.3m set in October 2023 by 28.9%.

The December figure was also 50.8% higher than $37.0m in the same month in 2022 and 187.6% ahead of $19.4m in November.

Revenue from online sports wagering in December amounted to $51.3m after promotional deductions. Retail revenue for the month reached $4.5m, again after deducting promotional items. 

Tax revenue for the month stood at $7.6m, with $7.2m from online betting and $407,672 retail activity. 

Year-to-date handle exceeds $1.50bn

Looking at the year-to-date performance in Louisiana, handle in the six months to the end of December was $1.60bn. This comprises $1.45bn in online bets and $156.6m worth of retail wagers.

As for revenue, combined online and retail revenue for the period amounted to $194.2m. Of this total, $175.5m came from internet betting and $18.7m physical sportsbooks.

A total of nine operators currently run online sportsbooks in Loiusiana. These include ESPN Bet, Bet Rovers, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, Betway and Bet365.

The latter of these is the latest to launch, with Bet365 going live in Louisiana in November last year. Bet365 is active in the state via a partnership with Boyd Gaming’s Amelia Belle, a riverboat casino in Amelia, Louisiana.