FILE – In this April 12, 2021, file photo, Senate President Page Cortez speaks with a colleague during opening day of the Louisiana legislative session in Baton Rouge, La. People in Louisiana could start betting on sports events as early as the fall through sports book sites, kiosk locations and mobile sites, under the bill setting up the wagering regulations that continued Tuesday, May 25, 2021, to ease its way toward final legislative passage.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — People in Louisiana could start betting on sports events as early as the fall through sports book sites, kiosk locations and mobile sites, under the bill setting up the wagering regulations that continued Tuesday to ease its way toward final legislative passage.
“We would hope that this would be available to the public sometime before the end of the football season,” said Senate President Page Cortez, a Lafayette Republican, told the House criminal justice committee after it advanced the regulatory measure without objection.
The proposal has only a few remaining steps, including a House floor debate, before it can reach Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. But lawmakers have shown little resistance to a bill pushed by the Senate’s leader, particularly after voters across most of the state agreed to legalize the wagering.
Voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes agreed to allow sports betting on live-action games, but lawmakers had to set the rules and the tax rates before the gambling can begin. The tax bill already has won final legislative passage, leaving the regulations as the final piece needing approval.
The regulatory proposal would create 20 licenses for sports book operators, with Louisiana’s casinos and racetracks given first chance to get those licenses. If those casinos and racetracks don’t seek all 20 licenses by Jan. 1, fantasy sports betting operators and video poker establishments in the 55 parishes where sports wagering is legal would be able to apply for any available licenses.
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