More than 211 million sports bets were placed on mobile betting apps in Louisiana during February, a month that had numerous opportunities for wagers such as NBA basketball, the Winter Olympics and, of course, the Super Bowl.
The seven sports wagering apps authorized in Louisiana raked in nearly $16.7 million during the month, including more than $9.8 million from football wagers. In January, the apps lost $9 million, though that includes money the apps paid out as promotions, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
Around 7.9% of the bets placed in February were winners. In February, the sports betting apps paid the state $2.1 million in taxes.
Louisiana has a particular interest in Super Bowl LVI, which saw the Los Angeles Rams take down the Cincinnati Bengals. A bevy of former LSU players were featured in the game, including Joe Burrow, Odell Beckham Jr., and the now -retired Andrew Whitworth,
With all of the Louisiana star power in the Super Bowl, it's unsurprising that Louisiana sports fans were willing to put up money. During February, around 7.5 million wagers were made each day, which is actually a decline from January, when bettors made 40.5 million wagers over only four days.
Louisiana's launch of mobile sports betting likely also drew interest from surrounding states. Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale traveled from Houston to Louisiana to place the largest mobile sports bet in history.
Louisiana's retail sportsbooks actually saw a sharp decline from January, possibly due to the introduction of mobile betting, which launched in Louisiana on Jan. 28. The 13 retail sportsbooks had 27.4 million wagers in February, about 978,500 per day. In January, the locations had 49.3 million wagers, which was about 1.6 million each day.
The retail locations, which are concentrated in Shreveport-Bossier City, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, had net proceeds of $643,000. Around 2.3% of bets made were winners.
Football bets were the biggest cash cow for the mobile apps, accounting for about 59% of the total net revenue for the month. The retail locations actually lost $696,000 on sports bets.
Basketball — both professional and college — was the second biggest moneymaker for the mobile apps, bringing in around $5.1 million. Parlays, or multiple bets tied into one, accounted for $4.4 million of the total revenue.
Most of the sports betting apps launched their Louisiana product on Jan. 28, the day it was first allowed, including Caesar's, Barstool, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Bet Rivers. WynnBet launched Feb. 9.
The casinos with retail sportsbooks include Amelia Belle, Boomtown Bossier City, Boomtown New Orleans, Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs, Golden Nugget Lake Charles, Harrah's New Orleans, Horseshoe Bossier City, L'Auberge Baton Rouge, L'Auberge Lake Charles, Margaritaville, Sam's Town and Treasure Chest.
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