Lousiana mobile betting to launch on Friday, January 28

Mobile betting in Louisiana is finally ready for takeoff.

The Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), Ronnie Johns, confirmed on Wednesday that bettors in the 55 parishes that voted to allow the activity will have legal mobile sportsbooks before the end of the week. The market will go live at 8am on Friday, January 28.

The Pelican State launched retail betting at physical casinos in October, but digital wagering platforms couldn’t go live at the same time because the vetting procedure for online licensees is more complicated and intensive. For instance, the regulators have to test each licensee’s geofencing equipment to ensure that it blocks players from the nine parishes that voted against legalizing sports betting.

Announcing the launch date, Johns was thrilled that the Gaming Control Board had met its target of rolling out mobile betting before the Super Bowl.

“It’s going to be huge. I can’t tell you how many people ask me about this every day,” said Johns.

“Our goal was to have it available before the Super Bowl, so we were able to bet that target. It will be ready for this weekend’s NFL conference championship games.”

The LGCB chairman further said that the body had cleared six licensees to start taking bets on the first day, although he did not disclose their names.

Five LA betting operators to go live on Friday

Following the Wednesday announcement, five companies have confirmed that their online sportsbook products will be available to bettors in the Pelican State when the market takes off on Friday.

Among those who have released statements to confirm the Friday launch is DraftKings, which already has a retail presence in the state thanks to its partnership with Golden Nugget Lake Charles. The operator is also approved to offer daily fantasy sports in the jurisdiction.

“There have been several DraftKings developments in Louisiana in the last year alone, including the debut of our daily fantasy products and retail sportsbook, and this latest online sportsbook launch is another significant milestone,” said DraftKings Co-Founder and President Matt Kalish in a statement.

“Although Louisiana bettors have previously been able to place wagers in person at our Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles location, the arrival of mobile betting greatly enhances accessibility and adoption potential within the Pelican State.”

The Louisiana launch will mark the 18th operational online market for DraftKings.

BetMGM, another heavyweight in the US sports betting scene, has also announced that it is ready to go live on Friday.

“We’re proud that BetMGM will be in the first wave of operators to lunch mobile sports betting in Louisiana this Friday. We thank both the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and the Louisiana State Police and look forward to parlaying BetMGM’s success in neighboring regions into a long, successful, and responsible relationship with sports fans in the state,” stated BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt.

Other operators who have confirmed that they are ready to commence operations on Friday include Caesars Sportsbook, BetRivers, and FanDuel.

LGCB to approve more licensees in coming days

In addition to the six operators cleared to launch in the first wave, the Gaming Control Board is also working towards allocating more mobile sportsbook licenses in the near future.

According to Johns, the regulator will review the remaining applications on a first come first serve basis to reward those who submitted their bids early.

Among those who are expected to join Louisiana’s online market in the coming days is Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook since it was one of first operators to be approved for retail betting when the industry launched in October. The others include WynnBet, BetFred, and Golden Nugget.