(The Center Square) — Mobile sports betting in Louisiana set a revenue record in September, translating into $4.7 million in taxes for the state.
Wagers for the state’s nine mobile operators were up 44.4% in September over the prior year for a total of $248.8 million in bets, or roughly $110 million more than August. Those wagers resulted in more than $36 million in net proceeds, a 447% jump from September 2022, with a 14.5% win percentage.
Parlay accounted for $19.8 million in net proceeds, followed by $7.3 million for football, $6.5 million for baseball, $252,480 for soccer, $118,218 for basketball, and $2.3 million in other categories. Mobile wagers were up 31.6% from the last fiscal year, while net proceeds were up 22.1%.
“This is the highest monthly total generated by mobile sports wagering since inception” in February 2022, Donna Jackson, a supervisor with the Louisiana State Police’s gaming audit section, told the Louisiana Gaming Control Board last week.
“I think it shows you what football, college and the NFL mean to sports betting,” board Chairman Ronnie Johns said of the “incredible numbers.” “We’re going to continue to watch those numbers.”
Net proceeds for the state’s 18 retail sportsbooks were also up 873% from the prior year in September, despite wagers declining by 0.8%. Total wagers were at $31.2 million, resulting in $5.7 million in net proceeds with an 18.3% win percentage. Total taxes collected from retail sports books was $572,554 last month.
Comparing fiscal year 2023-24 with fiscal year 2022-23, retail sports wagers were down 6.9%, while net proceeds were up 11.4%.
Like mobile sports betting, parlay led the way with retail sports betting in September with $3.2 million in proceeds, followed by football at $1.7 million, and other wagers at $509,121, baseball at $262,748, and soccer at $19,858. Basketball was a loser in September, at negative $43,965.
Johns also highlighted a significant boost in revenues for the Queen casino in Baton Rouge, which moved from a riverboat to a land-based casino last month.
“I want to congratulate the Queen here in Baton Rouge on their first full month, an exceptional month for them,” he said. “Compared to the same month last year, almost an 85% increase in their revenue. And compared to the previous month, over 90%.
“I think it just shows you what land-based properties are capable of doing. And I think the most interesting number is they grew the Baton Rouge market by almost $3 million from the prior year, so it wasn’t a matter of cannibalizing anybody else,” he said. “It was a net increase of the entire market.”
