[LA] Louisiana Bingo, Casino and Sports Betting [2021]

Louisiana has an excellent mix of gambling opportunities for locals. Nearly every single form of gambling can be played from land based casinos to online gambling.

Online Gambling

• Online gambling is not regulated within the market. Some offshore operators continue to accept players from Louisiana.
• The Louisiana Lottery holds a state monopoly license over lottery products and offers some products through online.
• land-based, riverboat and racetrack casinos are commercially operated, as well as Tribal casinos. None offer online casino distribution.
• Pari-mutuel wagering is available on horse races, with some forms of gambling offered through sites.
  

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Best 5 Louisiana Online Casinos

There is plenty of gaming opportunity at online casinos that Louisiana players are taking advantage of. These various sites are all based offshore, regulated and licensed.

Our compiled sites are safe and secure to play at, with no risk posed to Louisiana players, both regarding legality or to player data protection.

The best online casinos all use the latest SSL internet technology, and feature secure payment methods that are common, trusted and processed by reputable financial institutions. These include: VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Bitcoin (BTC), direct wire transfers and many other methods.

Casino Bonuses are extremely important in selecting an online casino. We have therefore displayed some of the best casino bonuses that can be found whilst balancing other important criteria such as safety and security as previously mentioned. However, for ease of reference, we have listed them according to the size of bonus.

Without doubt, at the time of writing, El Royale Casino offers the best casino bonus deal. It is also one of the safest. Coupled with excellent customer service, El Royale is our top recommended online casino for Louisiana players.

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Online Live Dealers in Louisiana

Gone are the days of second guessing if online interactive online casino games that are using RNG algorithms are fair or not. And gone are the days where you have to risk exposure of catching the corona virus, go through the hassle of wearing a mask and submitting yourself to a temperature check.

Welcome to the coming of online live casinos that streams a HD video of a real dealer to your playing device.

It’s as if you were at a real land based Vegas casino, playing at the table. The same rules and etiquette apply. Only this is being played at the comfort and convenience at your home, or anywhere of your choosing.

Online Live Casino games are played with real dealers. You can chat with them via instant messaging, and interact with them as you would at any normal land based table game.

There is a large variety of online live casino games that you can choose from. Unlike land based where it may be difficult to find that variation of table game you like, they are far more accessible online. The table games include: blackjack (countless variations), American and European roulette, baccarat, sic bo, pai gow poker and a whole lot more.

In addition, you will be able to use innovative features that are not available at normal Vegas table games. For example: you can place unlimited back behind bets. If you see a fellow player on a winning hot streak, why not place a bet backing him. If he wins, you win too! There is no limit to the number of players who can do this, logistically impossible at a real land based casino. And if you are an online blackjack fan, then you can also submit your decisions in advance of your turn with the dealer. This makes gaming churn through a whole lot faster.

If you are new to online casinos or want to maintain the Vegas table game feel then play at Live Online Casino games.

Click here to read more.

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Louisana Casinos

There is plenty of gaming to be had in LA. The biggest and best is to be found in New Orleans a the Harrah’s casinos. Harrah’s is a world famous casino brand that provides top quality gaming. With over hundreds of slot machines and table games, it is by far the leading gaming venue in New Orleans, and arguably in broader Louisiana.

Sports Betting

In 2019 lawmakers attempted to legalize sports wagering and Daily Fantasy gaming. Both did not succeed and therefore remain as illegal for onshore gaming.

Online and mobile sports betting sites, however, do exist and they are based offshore. They accept Louisiana bettors, with no precedence of any bettor being informed of a breach in law, let alone charged with a misdemeanor or felony.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is growing fast in popularity. New to the gambling scene, it is considered a game of skill by many which requires bettors to create a fictitious team based on real players. The performance of the real sports players in real life determine how successful the fictitious team is. As a result, it truly is those with the most “skills” will win.

Read More: How to Play Daily Fantasy Sports

The two biggest daily fantasy sports providers is DraftKings and FanDuel. And although Louisiana has clearly declared DFS to be illegal, onshore DFS providers continue to accept players residing in Louisiana.

On this site, we do not actively promote daily fantasy sports as we understand that it is a game of “skill” which is being exploited by bettors who have the best risk modelling. That is, it isn’t nearly about how well you know your sport, the sport players etc, it is very much about who has the best statistical model and who has access to the most detailed sports player data.

As someone who may be a big fan of sport, and thinking that they would have a good chance of winning money in DFS, think again. You are pitted against statistical modelling experts who deliberately target games that mostly have new players to DFS. In fact, it has been alleged that those who are extremely good at DFS have been known to collaborate among themselves and not compete with each other. Thereby creating a sustainable winning formula shared by the experts.

We therefore want our readers to be aware that DFS is not what is appears to be. In fairness, DFS is legal in Louisiana and many DFS onshore operators accept Louisiana players.

Top 3 Louisiana Online Bingo

Louisiana bingo laws are stipulated under Charitable gaming state legislation. These laws provide for the licensing of non profit organizations to operate bingo games. At present, these laws do not address nor permit online bingo by onshore operators. Accordingly, online bingo sites that do accept Louisiana players are based offshore (which is the same as online casinos and sports betting sites).

The recommended online bingo sites all accept players from Lousiana. They offer advanced features that include instant messaging, fun bingo games and protocols that ensures bingo participants play together in a civil enjoyable manner. Due to the social aspect of bingo, there is a cultural aspect to bingo which cannot be found with casino or sports betting. As an example, A LOT of acronyms form part of instant chat messaging. If you are not familiar with online bingo lingo, do not be afraid, learning it is one of the most fun parts!

Gambling Laws

• Land-based, riverboat and racetrack casinos are permitted to offer slots and table games.
• Casino and racetracks are permitted to offer video poker.
  Pari-mutuel wagering, pari-mutuel gaming machines and charitable gaming are permitted under State law.
• Louisiana State Lottery is permitted to offer numbers drawing, power-ball and scratch card products; Commercially operated lotteries are prohibited under State law.
• Gambling for recreational purposes is permitted and charitable gambling is permitted for charitable and non-profit organisations.
• Gambling on commercial cruise ships in international waters is permitted.
• Onshore Online gambling is expressly prohibited under state legislation.

Minimum Legal Gambling Age

• 18 for lottery products and horse track betting
• 21 for casino and video poker products

Gambling Taxes

• Riverboat casinos pay 21.5% gross gaming revenue, as well as an additional 4-6% to local government authorities, subject to the terms of their ‘local boarding fee’ agreements
• land based casinos pay the higher amount of US$60m or 21.5% gross gaming revenue
• racetrack casinos pay 18% gross gaming revenue to horseman; 18% or net to state taxes and 4% to local parish
• Louisiana lottery is required to circulate 35% of sales revenue to the State
• All surpluses from charitable gaming must be circulated to educational, charitable, patriotic, religious, or public-spirited causes.

Regulation and Governance

• Louisiana Gaming Control Board
• Louisiana State Racing Commission
• Office of Charitable Gaming

Gambling Legislation

• Criminal Code of Louisiana
• Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development Act
• Louisiana Gaming Control Act
• Louisiana Economic Development and Corporate Act
• Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law
• Pari-Mutuel Live Racing Facility Economic Redevelopment and Gaming Control Act

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Louisiana Gambling Market Developments

Background

There have been attempts within the market to regulate online gambling; a Bill to that effect was introduced but failed.

March 2013

Louisiana State Representative, Mike Huval requested a study into the gambling industry and market, to realize the potential issues involved in regulating online gambling.

January 2014

An independent study on online gambling regulation was published and presented to the legislature, which found a number of possible issues over regulating the market.

April 2015

State Representative Joe Lopinto introduced a Bill to authorize fantasy football and other sports or games in Louisiana allowing players to collect online winnings. The Bill defines fantasy sports as a game of skill, rather than games of chance, which would bring fantasy sports outside the ambit of legislation where all forms of online gambling are prohibited. The Bill states that no winning outcomes would be based on scores, point spreads or single athlete performances and was sent to the House Administration of Criminal Justice for consideration.

August 2015

The Gaming Control Board approved several amendments to the state’s administrative code (LAC 42:III.2737). The majority of the changes focused on the protection of minors and vulnerable individuals through increased entrance monitoring and the introduction of payment tracking software.

September 2016

The legislature adopted a concurrent resolution to create the Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force. The Task Force was tasked with proposing recommendations to improve the operation and regulation of the state’s riverboat casinos. The body was required to present its report and recommendations on the industry to the legislature in the first half of 2018.

December 2017

Local media reported the Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force was considering proposals to allow the state’s riverboat casinos to relocate to land based facilities larger than 30,000 sq. feet. However, the Chairman of the Task Force Ronnie Jones stated that no new casino licenses would be awarded.

January 2018

The Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force proposed a range of measures to modernise the state’s policy on casino. The Task Force recommended the state’s riverboat casinos should be permitted to relocate to land-based facilities larger than 30,000 sq. feet provided the number of gambling positions is capped at 2,365 per facility. The recommendations were accepted by the legislature; however, specific legislation was required to be introduced in the 2018 legislative session to enact the proposals.

March 2018

Senator Danny Martiny introduced a number of bills related to expanding gambling in the state. SB322 would provide for a public referendum on the topic of legalizing interactive gaming and SB266 would authorize a referendum on the topic of legalizing sports betting. A majority of voters in each individual parish would be required to approve the proposals to authorise either expansion in that particular parish.

Representative Major Thibaut introduced HB245 to authorize gaming machines and sports betting at horse racing tracks in the state provided a majority of voters in the parishes where the tracks are located approve the expansion. The bill would permit tracks to offer card and dice games, gaming machines and sports betting on any type of sporting event.

HB245 would entrust the regulation and administration to the Gaming Control Board; Representative Kirk Talbot introduced HB484 to authorize fantasy sports contests across the state. The bill would entrust regulation and administration to the Gaming Control Board and would require approval by a majority of voters in a public referendum on 12 October 2019 to be enacted.

Senator Ronnie Johns introduced SB316 and SB320 related to riverboat casino gaming, SB316 would permit the operators of riverboat casinos to relocate their gaming operations to land-based facilities provided they are located within 1,200ft of the riverboat’s licensed berth. SB320 would exempt ‘promotional pays’ of non-cashable vouchers, chips, credits and cash equivalents from taxation.

April 2018

Legislation to authorize interactive gambling, SB322, was dropped from the legislature during consideration by the Senate Committee on Judiciary. However, the Committee approved an amended version of SB 266 which would provide for a referendum relating to legalized sports betting at land-based casinos, riverboats, race-tracks and video poker venues in parishes across the state; SB316, which would permit the operators of riverboat casinos to relocate their gaming operations to land-based facilities, was approved by the Senate by a majority of 22 votes to 14 and progressed to the House for consideration; HB484 to authorize fantasy sports contests across the state was approved by the House by a majority of 67 votes to 23 and progressed to the Senate for consideration.

May 2018

HB484 to authorize fantasy sports contests across the state was approved by the Senate by a majority of 21 votes to 15. The bill was passed to Governor John Bel Edwards for approval. If enacted the bill required each parish to approve the operation of DFS by a public referendum, which would be added to the 6 November 2018 ballot.

Governor John Bel Edwards signed SB316 into law to permit the operators of the states 15 riverboat casinos to relocate their gaming operations to land-based facilities. Operators interested would submit an application to the Gaming Control Board; Governor John Bel Edwards signed HB484 to authorise fantasy sports contests across the state into law. The bill required each parish to approve the operation of DFS by a public referendum, which would be added to the 6 November 2018 ballot.

August 2018

The Gaming Control Board confirmed it was in the process of drafting regulations to allow riverboat casinos to relocate to land based facilities and intended to enact the regulations before the end of 2018. The Board also confirmed three (3) riverboats had begun preparing proposals to relocate their operations.

November 2018

Voters in the November referendum approved legislation to authorize online fantasy sports in parishes that approved the measure. The vote was approved in 47 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes. In order for the activity to become fully regulated within the state, legislation would need to be approved, which is expected during the next regular legislative session, commencing 8 April 2019.

April 2019

Senator Danny Martiny introduced legislation to authorize and regulate sportsbetting. SB153 would permit existing licensed gambling facilities to offer retail and on-site mobile sportsbetting. If passed, the bill’s provisions would require approval in each parish by a public referendum in order to take effect.

May 2019

SB153 was passed by the Louisiana Senate and will be passed to the State House for further examination. The tax rate wasn’t finalized within SB153.

Louisiana’s House Appropriations Committee voted 14-6 to reject Senator Martiny’s proposal to allow sports wagering in the state. Martiny told media outlets the bill was loaded with objectionable amendments and wouldn’t have won enough legislative support to pass, even if it made it out of the committee. The Louisiana Senate supported regulation of sports betting but this was rejected by the House and its budget committee.

June 2019

Louisiana rejected amendments to a fantasy sports bill that would have given citizens a vote on legalising wagering. House Bill 459 focused on legalizing daily fantasy sports but was amended to also include sports betting. The state’s House of Representatives rejected it unanimously.

May 2020

Legislation to authorize sports betting in the state was passed by the Senate and House and progressed to the Governor’s desk for final approval.

June 2020

The Senate approved regulations to govern the operation of daily fantasy sports in the state. The regulations set out in HB357 were sent to the House for consideration; Governor John Bel Edwards signed legislation (SB130) to put the question of whether to permit sports betting on the November state-wide referendum. The authorization of the activity would be on a parish-by-parish basis and a majority of voters in each area would be required to approve the measure to allow wagering in their area; The Senate approved legislation to grant the state’s riverboat and racetrack casinos an annual $5m tax exemption on promotional credits for the next five (5) years to mitigate the impact of COVID19 on the industry. The bill progressed the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.

July 2020

Governor John Bel Edwards signed daily fantasy sports regulations into law, meaning the activity could launch in the state by September. The Governor also approved legislation to grant the state’s riverboat and racetrack casinos an annual $5m tax exemption on promotional credits for the next five (5) years.

August 2020

Coushatta Casino Resort launches social mobile sport book and online casino – CASINO4FUN – partnering Rush Street Interactive (RSI).

September 2020

Rep. John Stefanski has suggested that the launch of DFS in the state will take longer than expected due to delays in the process from the Gaming Control Board. It had been hoped that fantasy sports would launch in September or October, but this is likely to be pushed back until mid-November or December.