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Mostly Positive News From Louisiana’s July Sports Betting Revenue Report

Perry Sandra

Updated on August 25, 2023 at 4:16 PM EDT, this article is a quick read at 2 minutes and 9 seconds. For more information, check out the Twitter and Google News links provided.

LSU Tigers mascot Mike the Tiger as we look at the September report for Louisiana.
LSU Tigers mascot Mike the Tiger looks on prior to the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Caesars Superdome. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images/AFP.

Louisiana has joined the national trend of July month-over-month sports betting declines in U.S. legal sports betting states. The latest report from the Louisiana Control Board, released on Monday, provided both positive and negative news for the state’s legal sports wagering scene and online betting apps.

Louisiana sports betting apps and retail sports gambling saw a decrease in overall handle compared to June, but the hold rate for Pelican State providers exceeded the national average. This resulted in a significant profit boost for providers and benefited tax programs supporting the state’s sports betting industry with top-notch sportsbooks.

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Handle declines month-over-month but increases year-over-year

The Louisiana Control Board reported on Monday that the legal sports betting handle for July among Louisiana sports betting apps and retail providers was $134.8 million, showing a decrease of over $25 million from the $160 million in bets generated in June, a drop of about 16%.

However, the $134.8 million handle does show a 14% year-over-year increase from the $118.5 million generated in July 2022. This still marks the lowest point for the Louisiana legal sports betting scene since its widespread launch in February 2022.

Louisiana’s sports betting apps accounted for $122.5 million of the total sports betting handle, marking a 19% increase from the $103.3 million in online bets from July 2022. The remaining portion of the handle came from retail sports betting.

Solid hold helps revenues rise month-over-month

In the U.S. legal sports betting landscape, there has been a noticeable trend of declining handles but increasing revenue since July. Louisiana is the latest state to exemplify this pattern.

The primary factor was that bettors in America were not very successful against sportsbooks in July. In Louisiana, a strong 13.6% hold led to a significant increase in sportsbook revenues of nearly $4.5 million, representing a 40% month-over-month spike.

The state’s gross gaming revenues reached $18,282,477 with a hold rate of 13.6%, a significant increase from the $13,981,060 in sportsbook profits generated in June with a hold rate of 8.7%.

Despite this, sportsbook profits decreased by approximately 13% compared to July 2022, when the hold rate was 17.7%, with profits dropping from $20,980,159 to $18.3 million reported last month.

The state’s top sports betting sites contributed $2.2 million in taxes to Louisiana state and local governments, an increase from $1.7 million in June.

Parlays carry the weight

Parlays were the top revenue generator for sportsbooks in Louisiana in July, accounting for $10.7 million, or approximately 59% of the state’s sports betting profits during a reduced summer betting season.

Baseball was the dominant sport for bettors in July, generating $2.9 million in sportsbook revenues as the only major sport in play during that month.

No other sport came close to matching the $1 million in revenues generated by Louisiana sports betting providers. Soccer brought in profits of $664,000, basketball barely exceeded $500,000, football was just slightly behind baseball, and all other sports combined for less than $2 million in revenues.

Fortunately, Louisiana simply needs to get through August before experiencing a surge in sports betting activity. With the NFL, NBA, and NHL gearing up to start again, sports betting providers in the Pelican State are eagerly anticipating the increase in action.

Written By:
Perry Sandra
Perry Sandra and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by “odds”. Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn’t found a sport yet that can’t contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.