Louisiana Gaming Revenue Declines in April but Sports Betting Thrives

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board reported that April gaming revenue reached $184.3 million, marking an 8% decrease compared to the same month last year.

Sports Betting Revenue Soars

Despite the overall decline in gaming revenue, Louisiana saw a significant surge in sports betting revenue.

Online Sports Betting reached $39 million, an 81% increase from the previous year, from a handle of $263 million, while retail sports betting generated $1.3 million from a handle of $19.8 million.

April’s handle of $283.1 million represented a 35% increase compared to last year, though it was down 19.1% from March’s $350 million. Revenue surged by 72.4% year-over-year, with the hold rate 3.1 percentage points higher.

Gross revenue for the first four months reached $161.9 million, up 41.1% compared to the same period in 2023.

Impressive Hold Rates and Total Revenue

The state reported $40.4 million in gross sports betting revenue for April, with a 14.3% hold rate. This marks the 11th time in 30 months that the hold rate exceeded 14%, doubling the industry standard of 7%. Louisiana’s all-time gross revenue for operators has now surpassed $750 million.

The state taxed $36.4 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in $5.4 million in tax income. Operators deducted $3.9 million in promotional credits and bonuses, significantly higher than the $1.2 million in April 2023 and slightly up from March. Year-to-date, the state has collected $19.7 million in taxes, $7.3 million more than last year at this time.