Mixed Fortunes For Louisiana’s Sportsbooks In Summer 2023

July 2023 proved to be another unpredictable month for Louisiana’s online sportsbooks. While there was a marked increase in the overall sports betting handle, the brand’s revenues actually took a modest dip. Plus with some of the licensed online sportsbooks set to shut up shop, it looks like things could be getting very interesting for sports betting in the Pelican State.

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Analysis of Louisiana’s sport betting performance in July

It’s been a summer of mixed fortunes for Louisiana’s online sportsbooks and things got no clearer when the Louisiana Gaming Control Board released its latest figures earlier this week.

This shows that the sports betting handle in the Pelican State topped $134 million in July, solidifying an overall upward trend. This represented a 14% increase upon the same month last year when only just over $118 million in sports bets were taken within the state.

But while there was an impressive growth in sports betting handle, Louisiana’s sportsbooks actually experienced a 13% fall in their revenues. This is because just over $18 million in revenues was recorded in July 2023 compared to nearly $21 million reported in July 2022. As a result, there was only just over $2 million collected in sports betting taxes last month.

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Positive summer trends for Louisiana’s online sportsbooks 

Despite the negative turn in last month’s revenues, Louisiana’s online sportsbooks have actually been enjoying a successful summer in terms of their overall sports betting handle.

There was over $122 million spent on online sports bets in July 2023 which is a 19% rise compared to the same month in the previous year. The amount of sports bets taken online in June was also an increase on the previous year – largely thanks to the success of Louisiana State University in winning the College World Series.

All of this is all the more impressive considering that the summer months are usually fairly bleak times for sportsbooks given the relatively scarcity of major sporting events.

Despite this positive news, the state’s online sportsbooks experienced a shortfall of 18% in their revenues compared to the previous year. There was just over $15 million in revenues created in July 2023 which is much less than over $19 million reported during the same month in the previous year.

Analysis of these figures reveal some interesting trends. These are that parlay betting drove much of the revenues recorded by the online sportsbooks in Louisiana. This is because parlay bets accounted for $9.5 million making an impressive 60% of the total revenues last month.

The most popular sport to bet on was baseball which isn’t a major surprise considering that this was the only major professional sport type in operation over the slower months of summer. Baseball still produced an impressive $2.7 million in revenues for the Pelican State.

Charting the progress of Louisiana sports betting

Sports betting has been legal across much of Louisiana since January 2022. Since that date, eight online sportsbooks have been locked in battle for control of the Pelican State.

These have displaced in-person sportsbooks as the preferred way of enjoying sports betting in Louisiana. This can be seen in the recent figures that illustrate that physical sportsbooks have experienced nearly a 20% fall in their sports betting handle compared to the same time last year.

This is because the 18 in-person sportsbooks only recorded just over $12 million in bets in July 2023 compared to just over $15 million the previous year. However, the state’s physical sportsbooks can take some comfort from the fact that their revenues enjoyed a 15% increase compared to July 2022.

The market for sports betting in Louisiana is also in a state of flux. This is because two of the eight licensed online sportsbooks are in the process of being wound down. With both PointsBet and Barstool closing their doors, it leaves things open for other major players such as FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, and BetRivers to carve up the remaining market share. What makes things all the more interesting is that WynnBet looks to be shutting up shop in several of its territories.

Conclusion – Promising signs for Louisiana’s online sportsbooks

Despite the dip in monthly revenues, Louisiana’s online sportsbooks can still enjoy what looks to be a bright future in the Pelican State. This is because more people are betting on sport than ever before, and it looks like they are increasingly taking this activity into the online domain.

Obviously, there will be operating costs for doing this with a range of promotional offers cutting into each sportsbook’s revenues. But with a new NFL season just around the corner, it looks like the Louisiana sports betting scene is looking better than ever.