The long wait is over; sports bettors in Louisiana can now join in the trend of placing wagers on their favorite sports teams or events. Before this time, residents in the Pelican State were only able to access horse racing and casino gaming products. With sports betting going live, residents are in for an amazing betting experience.
The legalization of sports betting in Louisiana is interesting. Discussions around sports betting became serious in November 2020, a couple of years after PASPA was scrapped. The proposition went into a vote with 55 of the 64 (parishes) voters in support. Eight months later, Governor John Edwards put his signature on SB 247, which became law on June 22, 2021.
Physical sports wagering and online sports betting became legal in 2021. Certain delays were experienced in the launch of mobile sports betting due to geolocation tracking issues. Louisiana comprises 64 parishes and nine were not in support. Geofencing had to be straightened out regarding the nine parishes that were not in support of the sports betting bill.
Louisiana launched its mobile sports betting space on January 28, 2022. FanDuel LA, DraftKings LA, Caesars LA, BetMGM, and BetRivers were the first set of sportsbooks to quickly storm the market. More sportsbooks are planned to roll out shortly; a total of 20 licenses will be awarded to casinos. Each license can have two online skins.
Louisiana lawmakers had a huge impact on sports betting legislation once voters had agreed they wanted it legalized. Furthermore, they created a regulatory framework that would enable both players and sportsbooks to enjoy a betting-friendly space. Sports betting laws provided through the two bills (SB 247 and SB 697) pointed to several guidelines, including regulation, taxation, and fee structure, to aid the legal sports betting market in the state.
In addition, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board created sports betting rules, which aided the licensing of potential sportsbooks. Here are excerpts from the laws and guidelines around Louisiana sports betting:
The removal of the PASPA act by the Supreme Court created a void. Sports betting states have to regulate and control gaming activities within their borders. Majorly, this is done by the state through commissions or departments overseeing gambling-related activities.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board regulates sports betting in Louisiana. The Board is made of nine members and chaired by Ronnie Johns. The Board aims to regulate and license gaming activities in a way that instills public trust and confidence, ensuring gaming activities are carried out free of criminal and corrupt practices.
In addition, the Board is tasked with ensuring the integrity of individual gaming adventures via the regulation of practices, persons, and associations within the gaming industry. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board also partners with the Gaming Enforcement Division to promote the public's safety, health and welfare. Users should understand that the regulatory orders may be amended for public health and wellbeing.
Legal LA sportsbooks do not only provide gaming services to residents and millions of visitors in the state, but they also create a level of confidence and trust that attracts players. Bettors can access online sportsbooks 24/7 from any parishes where it is permitted.
Beyond the convenience of these mobile sportsbooks, players can compare betting lines between sportsbooks and secure better odds and prices. On the other hand, offshore betting sites have a trend of inappropriate practices regarding odds, betting market, payout, customer services, etc.
Essentially, these offshore betting sites are unregulated. With no known organization overseeing their services, products, or practices. There is a tendency to manipulate, steal and abuse users. Manipulation comes in the aspect of odds, bonuses, and betting markets. They set up promotional offers that are too good to be true to lure players, who then find out they can't cash out their winnings at the end of the day.
These trends are never connected with legal LA sports betting sites. And the reason is not far-fetched. Commissions like the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and Gaming Enforcement Division have oversight of every gaming activity, ensuring the regulatory structure is maintained by sportsbooks and bettors. Interestingly, bettors have a board to report to if complaints are not handled properly.
The decision to regulate sports betting in Louisiana is impressive, with 20 licenses being made available to casinos. Each of the available casinos can have two online skins attached to them. Ideally, we expect up to 40 online sports betting operators in the state. Currently, five have gone live. We expect more sportsbooks to finalize their entries and go live in the coming months. Some of the sportsbooks we are expecting are:
It is no longer news; LA sports betting operations are now live. Five legal sportsbooks, licensed by the LGCB, are already live. Bettors can now create betting accounts and place bets on their favorite sports teams or events.
Here we would rate and review these sportsbooks. We have carried out thorough research on these sportsbooks, and we intend to share our experience with you.
First, we review and recommend only legal and regulated LA sports betting sites. We do not consider offshore betting sites due to several shortcomings, irregularities, and illegalities associated with such franchises. We are committed to our readers and take responsibility for their online safety.
Our methodology is simple. We consider several vital factors to determine the best online sports betting sites. Among such factors are mobile experience, ease, and speed of payment gateways, quality of apps, bonuses and promos, odds and prices, and more. Let's begin.
When you think about the license of a sportsbook, think about the safety of a sports bettor. Ideally, this is the first factor we consider before commencing a review. The gaming adventure of an LA player could become unpleasant or terrible if he signs up with an unregistered or illegal sportsbook. For LA, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board is responsible for licensing and regulating the state's gaming activities.
Essentially, to verify a sportsbook operator, check out the logo of the Board. Also, you can verify by going through the list of licensed operators available on the Board's site. A licensed sportsbook has a reputation for trustworthiness, fairness, and customer service.
You would come across several payment gateways on LA sportsbooks. The most popular options are credit/debit card, PayPal, online banking, Play+, Paynearme, wire transfer, and more. A particular sportsbook can't have all options; however, available options should be secure, safe, and popular among LA punters. To help LA punters create exciting gambling experiences, we include payment methods as a factor when reviewing and rating sportsbooks.
The welcome bonus is the most popular bonus offer in the gambling space. Essentially, it is a promotional offer used to lure in new players. However, it is beneficial to newbies as it helps them kickstart their gambling adventure. Louisiana sportsbooks are quite generous in their welcome offer. Free bets and deposit offers are most common. Generally, these offers have a wagering requirement before you redeem the bonus money.
Existing players are also treated well. It is not good enough to lure players via a welcome bonus and not offer them any incentives afterward. Top-rated LA sportsbooks provide daily promotions and loyalty rewards for existing players. This ensures these players keep using them as a primary betting account. Most players have a way of checking out other sportsbooks to know what they are offering. If they find a better offer, they will migrate. Sportsbooks survive the intensely competitive market by offering various types of bonuses like cash back, reload bonus, and more.
Popular betting lines are on NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, NHL, and soccer games. However, it is not enough to offer only these premier sports to bettors. Most bettors see betting as entertainment, not necessarily a means to earn more money online. They love to explore their prediction skills and need a variety of sports to do this. While reviewing, we take note of the sports events/games offered. Most LA sportsbooks are big players in the US gaming space and offer both major and minor sports.
Sports betting is a bit advanced in 2022. Bettors want to be able to live stream events from their mobile devices. Most times, the live streaming features come along with live betting. Players can place bets and also watch events unfold afterward. Most LA sportsbooks in our review have this feature ready for users, giving them an exciting betting experience.
Players have to make sure sportsbooks offer them the best odds and prices to turn in more profit. You should know that differences in prices on moneylines, point spread, and proposition bets are critical to the outcome of a bet. Therefore, most punters get more than one betting account. This helps them to compare wagering lines among sportsbooks to get favorable odds and prices.
Regardless of what device form is used to access sports betting products, the user experience must be awesome. Sportsbooks ensure their interface is easy to understand by making the design simple, with necessary features easy to locate. In addition, a search box feature is created to help you find items easily. Most times, players complain of glitches while using sports betting apps. Changes are made by upgrading such apps by the sportsbook.
One of the vital requirements for sportsbooks to operate perfectly is customer support. There is going to be feedback from users. How a sportsbook handles such is a big deal. Sportsbooks provide channels of communication for users to reach. Players, especially newbies, would need help navigating through a sportsbook.
In essence, they are new to the platform and would make unintentional mistakes. This has to be sorted out by a customer care representative. Most LA sportsbooks can be reached via email, live chat, or phone lines. In addition, players have access to a FAQ section that could help.
Robert is responsible for all content on BettingGuide US. Robert previously worked as a poker dealer during his college years at MIT where he studied Computational Science and Engineering. With a great interest in gambling, Robert likes to go in-depth when writing so that you can make a wiser choice when choosing an operator.
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