During February, the first full month in which online gambling was legal, online sports bets placed in Louisiana totaled more than $211 million, according to Louisiana Gaming Control Board figures. The six mobile sportsbooks−Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars, DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers Sportsbook and Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel Group in partnership with Boyd Gaming generated $16.7 million in winnings during February, including $9.8 million from football bets; basketball ranked second at $1.5 million, followed by parlay bets at $4.4 million.
Bettors wagered $27.4 million at the state’s 13 retail sportsbooks during February−a dramatic drop from the $49.3 million bet during January and a clear indication of mobile sports betting’s impact.
Legalized online sports betting launched in Louisiana on January 28; retail sports wagering debuted last October. In the first four days of online betting in Louisiana, wagers reached $40.5 million; operators spent $11.9 million in promos in those four days, which dragged a gross revenue of $2.7 million to a $9 million loss for online sportsbooks in January. Online sportsbooks can deduct $5 million per year in promotional spending.
The state’s online and retail sportsbook combined revenue soared 165.5 percent to a total of $238.4 million in bets during February, up from $89.8 million in January. The state collected $2.3 million in gaming taxes in February.
