Record Profits Reported For Louisiana Sportsbooks in September

The September sports betting surge across America is real ... and it is spectacular! We can now add Louisiana to the list of states that experienced healthy month-over-month and year-over-year spikes in wagering activity across our best sportsbooks after the Louisiana Gaming Board released its September numbers Monday.

The return of NFL and college football to Bayou State sports wagering menus helped Louisiana sports betting's 18 retail sportsbooks and nine Louisiana sports betting apps to the second-best handle ever, and the state's highest revenue month since widespread legal sports betting launched in February 2022.

Sportsbooks in Louisiana definitely got the better of their wagering public in September. The hold rate for providers there was more than double the national average and the third-best Louisiana has recorded in its 21 months of legal sports betting.

Louisiana sports betting handle spikes almost 82% month-over-month

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board is reporting a September sports betting handle of $280.1 million. It is an astounding 82% month-over-month increase from the $153.9 million in August and more than $75 million higher than the $203.8 million wagered on sports in September 2022. Only January's $282.3 million handle was better than the wagering action seen in September.

Louisiana sports betting apps were responsible for the vast majority of the overall September handle in the state. Of the overall $280.1 million handle, $248.83 million came from Louisiana's best sports betting apps. Mobile sports betting jumped 80% month-over-month and 44% year-over-year.

September gross revenues hit new high

Gross gaming revenues for the Louisiana sports betting scene set a new record in September. The state's sports betting providers reported $43.1 million in profits. Adjusted gross gaming revenues came in at $41.8 million.

The September gross gaming revenue total is a 33.7% month-over-month improvement for the state's sportsbooks and almost $6 million higher than the previous record of $37.2 million set in December 2022. The figures are also nearly 2.5 times higher than the $18.1 million in adjusted gaming revenues from August.

Perhaps the biggest story out of Louisiana’s September sports betting numbers is the 15.4% hold rate reported by state providers. That is more than double the national average of around 7% and is the highest since 16.4% last September.

Because of the increased handle, revenues, and hold rate, Louisiana state and local coffers were able to benefit to the tune of just over $5.3 million in September. It marks the first time taxes collected from Louisiana sports betting providers eclipsed $5 million in a month and is obviously a record tax contribution for the state.

Year-to-date reflects solid growth for Louisiana market

The legal sports betting market in Sportsman’s Paradise is strong. Year-over-year numbers are up almost across the board at the best online sports betting sites. The year-to-date Louisiana handle sits at $1.86 billion after September's figures were added in, 21.9% higher than from January to the end of September 2022.

Gross gaming revenues for the first nine months of 2023 were $237.6 million, 38.9% higher than the same period last year. It is likely that an average 12.8% hold rate over that time, which is about 1.5% higher than the average for last year is a big part of the profits increase.

As far as tax contributions go, there has been solid year-over-year growth in that metric as well. Through the first nine months of 2023, $26.7 million in taxes has been collected, almost $6.7 million more than the first nine months of last year.