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

The national trend of July month-over-month sports betting declines in U.S. legal sports betting states has officially been extended to Louisiana and the best sports betting apps in the state. The Louisiana Control Board's July revenues report was released Monday, and it revealed some good, and some bad news for the legal sports wagering scene and online betting sites in the Pelican State.

Despite a lower overall sports betting handle for Louisiana sports betting apps and the retail sports gambling scene compared to June, the hold rate for Pelican State providers came in far above the national average. It provided a nice boost in profits for providers there, along with the tax programs that benefit from a strong sports betting industry featuring the best sportsbooks in Louisiana.

Check out our Louisiana sportsbook promos

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

The Louisiana Control Board on Monday identified a July legal sports betting handle among Louisiana sports betting apps and retail providers of $134.8 million. That's a more than $25 million decrease from the $160 million in bets generated in June (about 16%).

But that same $134.8 million handle does represent a 14% year-over-year increase from the  $118.5 million generated in July 2022, which still ranks as the lowest point for the Louisiana legal sports betting scene since its widespread launch in February 2022.

Louisiana's sports betting apps made up $122.5 million of the overall sports betting handle. That's a 19% year-over-year increase from the $103.3 million in internet-based bets from July 2022. Retail sports betting accounted for the rest.

Solid hold helps revenues rise month-over-month

Handles declining but revenue increasing has become a bit of a theme from July across the U.S. legal sports betting scene. Louisiana represents just the latest example of that trend.

The main reason for that? Bettors in America simply didn't enjoy a whole lot of success against sportsbooks in July. In Louisiana, a solid 13.6% hold helped sportsbook revenues spike nearly $4.5 million, or about 40% month-over month.

Gross gaming revenues for the state came in at $18,282,477 off of the 13.6% hold, compared to the $13,981,060 in sportsbook profits from June, when the hold rate was just 8.7%.

However, year-over-year sportsbook profits fell about 13% from $20,980,159 in July 2022, when the hold rate was a whopping 17.7%, to the $18.3-million mark reported last month. 

It all led to tax contributions of $2.2 million to Louisiana state and local coffers from the state's best sports betting sites. That's up from $1.7 million in June.

Parlays carry the weight

Parlays produced the most revenues for sportsbooks in the Pelican State during July amid the trimmed-down summer sports betting menu. $10.7 million, or about 59% of the Pelican State sports betting profits came from parlay wagers.

Baseball, the only major sport that was in play during July, was the top sport for bettors. It was responsible for $2.9 million in sportsbook revenues. 

No other sport even came close to $1 million in revenues. Soccer generated $664,000 in profits, basketball barely surpassed $500,000, football was just slightly behind baseball, and every other sport on the menu combined for less than $2 million in revenues for Louisiana sports betting providers.

The good news is that Louisiana just needs to get August out of the way before an inevitable spike in sports betting activity. The NFL, NBA, and NHL are almost ready to start again, and Pelican State sports betting providers are eagerly waiting.