In Louisiana, legislation is advancing that would allow the state’s 15 riverboat casinos to move onto land and also remove the 30,000 square foot limitation on gambling pace. Instead, each riverboat could have up to 2,365 gambling positions—a slot machine seat or spaces around gaming tables.
Currently the riverboats have a total of 21,223 gaming positions under the 30,000 square foot restriction; the new cap would allow 35,475 positions. According to state gaming control board data, the average riverboat has 1,471 gambling positions now and uses 27,843 square feet of gambling space. Since the 15 riverboats have an average of 18.9 square feet per gambling position, 49,159 square feet would be required to accommodate the 2,365 gambling positions allowed under the proposed legislation–well over the current 30,000 square foot restriction.
The measure’s sponsor, state Senator Ronnie Johns, said the 2,365-position cap was arrived at by taking the 2,152 seats in the Golden Nugget—the highest number of gambling positions—plus 10 percent. Still, he said, “This bill does not expand gambling in this state.” He said only legislation that would allow fantasy sports, sports betting and internet gambling should qualify as a gambling expansion.
Johns and riverboat casinos representatives have said a cap on seats rather than square footage would better accommodate new gambling machines, which are larger than current and older games.
Johns said the bill is an economic development measure, since riverboat casino owners would have to spend millions of dollars on new land-based facilities. “Some casinos aren’t going to move onto land because it will be too expensive,” he said. In addition, capping gambling positions would allow Louisiana casinos to compete with tribal casinos; for example, the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder has 3,500 gambling positions and no limit on how many it can add, Johns said.
Johns’ legislation also permits riverboat casinos to offer four gambling tournaments per year, each lasting up to 14 days. Seats used during the events would not count toward the gambling positions limit.
Johns’ bill passed the Senate and the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice. Next it moves to the full House. Governor John Bel Edwards has indicated he will sign it if it reaches his desk.
State Rep. Major Thibaut has sponsored similar legislation on behalf of Louisiana’s four racetracks. His bill would replace the limit of 15,000 square feet of gambling space with a cap of 1,632 gambling positions. The measure already passed the House and is awaiting approval on the Senate floor.
