8 Louisiana riverboats rake in $5.6M in first month of legalized sports betting

The eight Louisiana casinos that started taking sports bets in November raked in more than $5.6 million in revenue on more than $27 million in wagers, according to the latest revenue data from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The eight Louisiana casinos that started taking sports bets in November raked in more than $5.6 million in revenue on more than $27 million in wagers, according to the latest revenue data from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

Nearly $570,000 in taxes were paid on those profits.

A vast majority of the bets were made on football and on parlays.

Horseshoe, Margaritaville, and Boomtown are among the eight Louisiana riverboats that started taking sports wagers in November.

While overall revenue at casinos in the Shreveport-Bossier market dropped by 5.4 percent from October to November this year, the region's six casinos saw a 19 percent increase compared to November of last year as the market continues to recover from COVID-19 restrictions that effectively shuttered casinos in much of March and all of April in 2020.

All 20 of the state’s casinos and racetracks are expected to eventually get authorization to begin taking sports wagers, including Bally's (formerly Eldorado) and Sam's Town in Shreveport. DiamondJack's, which has remained closed since May 2020, has not indicated yet whether it will reopen by February 9, 2022, as required by state regulators in order to keep its license.