Louisiana sports betting bounced back in August, with the handle increasing compared to the previous month. However, revenue showed a 62% decrease from July. Considering the ups and downs, experts said that the performance of the market is still favorable and it will be interesting to see how the market performs throughout the rest of the year.
Louisiana Sports Betting August Handle
After reporting the $238.41 million all-time high last February, the amount wagered to Louisiana sportsbooks has been in a declining trend. This is mainly due to the lack of sports events to bet on. However, the streak was broken after the Bayou State sportsbooks reported a total of $128.2 million in August, an 8.4% month-on-month elevation compared to July.
Online sportsbooks are still dominating the market as they account for $112.1 million of the handle compared to retail sportsbooks’ $16.2 million. There has been an 8.5% increase in mobile wagering handles while the amount wagered to brick-and-mortar sportsbooks grow by 6.7%.
One of the main factors regarding the increase was the presence of NFL preseason which commence last August 11. While the increase was not that significant, it is still a good sign that the declining trend was finally ended.
Sports Betting Revenue Drops
Despite having a higher handle in August, Lousiana online sportsbooks have only translated it to $7.3 million in revenue, representing a massive 62% decrease compared to July’s $19.2 million. On the other hand, retail sportsbooks were in good shape as they reported their nd highest total revenue since the November 2021 launch.
Overall, the sports betting revenue dropped by 54.3%. While the online sportsbooks have a significantly lower handle, it still has the majority of the share in the $1.6 million taxes paid to the state.
Overall Verdict
While there has been more decline in 2022, sports betting is still favorable overall. In addition, the analyst expects that the industry will report “some crazy numbers” in the coming months as Louisiana will experience its first full NFL season with regulated online sportsbooks.
Recent reports said that there has been a 71% boost in mobile sportsbook logins during the first week of the NFL. In addition, the MLB is nearing the postseason which means that there will be more exciting matches to come.
