Louisiana breaks sports betting records in September

Louisiana had one of its best months for sports betting in September, setting a new record for sportsbook revenue and tax revenue, while the overall amount wagered fell just short of setting a new record, data shows.

Data from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board shows that around $280.1 million was wagered in Louisiana at retail locations and on mobile apps, which is the second-most in a single month since legal sports betting began in 2021. Only January 2023 saw more money wagered with around $282.3 million.

September was the best month so far for the sportsbooks, which brought in around $41.8 million between both the brick-and-mortar locations and the mobile apps. The previous record was around $37 million in December 2022. The state made around $5.3 million in tax revenue from sports betting, beating the previous record of $4.4 million in December 2022.

“Again, some incredible numbers,” said Ronnie Johns, the chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, at the board’s October meeting. “I think it shows you what football, college and the NFL, mean to sports betting…We’re going to continue to watch those numbers.”

Johns has repeatedly said he expected this football season to be a boon for the state, and the numbers through the first two months of the season — college football had a few games in August, but the NFL did not kick off its regular season until September — have supported his optimism. 

The state has seen around $434 million wagered in September and August of this year, an increase of around $98.3 million or 29.3% from September and August 2022. The two months have combined to bring in around $58.8 million in net proceeds for the sportsbooks this year, up $17.5 million or 42.2% from last year. 

Louisiana has collected more than $7.4 million in tax revenue from sports betting over the last two months, up $1.8 million or 31.6% from last year.

The physical locations brought in around $31.3 million in wagers during September, which was more than double the amount from August, but a slight decrease from September 2022. The retail sportsbooks had net proceeds of more than $5.7 million, which was more than the previous three months combined.

The retail sportsbooks paid around $573,000 in taxes to the state, which was an increase of around 27.5% from September 2022.

The mobile sportsbooks had around $248.8 million in bets placed in September, which was the most the state has seen since mobile betting launched in January 2022. The net proceeds for the mobile apps were also at a record high with $36.1 million. The apps paid more than $4.7 million in state taxes, which was a record.

More than a fifth of the net proceeds for both the retail and mobile sportsbooks came from football bets, with proceeds totaling around $9.1 million for September. Bets on baseball made up around 16.2% of the net proceeds, which totaled $6.8 million for the month. Parlays — or bets that combine multiple bets into one — made up the bulk of the net proceeds with $23.1 million, accounting for roughly 55% of the net proceeds.