The Louisiana Gaming Control Board has reported monthly statistics for August and revealed an up-turn in online handle, avoiding a sixth consecutive decline in overall wagering value.
Reported online sports betting handle was US$112.1m for August, rising from the prior (full month) all-time low in July of US$103.3m but falling just short of the US$113.7m reported in June.
Louisiana online sports betting is now entering its 9th month of operations, and analysts expect record months to come given the resumption of the most popular sports in the US sporting calendar. NFL has already got underway, and the NBA will commence at the end of September. In addition, the FIFA World Cup should provide an additional boost to handle should US punters have a bet on one of sporting’s largest events.
Louisiana passed a ballot initiative for sports wagering in June 2020, taking at least 18 months from the passing of a bill to official launch. This could have ramifications for California online sports betting, which in the unlikely case that Proposition 27 gets passed, would likely face years of legal battles and political to-and-fro before a product entered the market. Given the marketing spend has been an astonishing US$500m on the ballot in CA alone, it looks like it could be an extremely expensive battle for a legal wager in the Sunshine state.
LA is far from atypical in the duration from online sports betting legalization to launch, and thus the states currently still debating legislation could be waiting a long time before any prospective launch. The states of Florida, California, Texas and Oklahoma are but a few that are on operator’s lips as they look to unlock a huge chunk of the United States of America’s Total Addressable Market.
With the NFL back underway and the NBA too, September will be key to the touted start of the sports betting upturn – not just in Louisiana, but across the entirety of the country.
