Louisiana online betting revenue up 70.0% in March despite handle decline

Revenue for the second full month of legal online betting in the state was comfortably ahead of $16.7m in February, whereas for the first few days of regulated wagering in January – with the market having opened on 28 January – there was a $9.0m loss.

Players wagered $205.7m on sports via the internet in March, which was less than $211.0m in February. However, the February handle total included $10.0m in promotional bets and offers, whereas March only had $802,245 worth of promotional deductions.

Basketball betting was the primary single source of revenue for operators, with licensees having won $12.8m in total from such bets. Soccer revenue was $467,735 and baseball $173,131, while parlay revenue reached $13.6m.

Penn National Gaming and its Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars, DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive and its BetRivers Sportsbook and Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel Group in partnership with Boyd Gaming all went live with online sports betting on opening day of regulation in January.

WynnBet and partner licensee Horseshoe Bossier followed just over a week later, launching on 9 February.

Turning to retail betting, which became legal in October last year, revenue for March was $1.7m, up 168.0% month-on-month, while retail wagers edged down 1.5%m to $27.0m.

Basketball was again the main revenue source for operators, though at a much lower value than that of online at $133,540. Baseball revenue was $41,591 and soccer $20,903, while football wagers produced a loss of $300,093 and parlay betting revenue reached $1.8m.