The Louisiana Gaming Control Board reported an overall handle of more than $238 million for the month of February on Monday, with nearly 90% of that amount generated via mobile and online wagering.
The Pelican State’s six online operators — Caesars, Barstool Sports, DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel, and BetRivers — combined to accept just over $211 million in wagers. That was a five-fold increase from the $40 million handle generated in the final four days of January when mobile went live.
The LGCB does not break out handle and revenue by operator, but it noted the sextet combined for close to $16.7 million in adjusted gross revenue. Gross revenue numbers were not available because the gaming agency did not furnish promotional revenue, unlike January.
Revenue from mobile wagering generated more than $2.2 million in tax receipts. Heavy promotional play totaling nearly $11.7 million resulted in a net AGR of negative $3.7 million in January and no taxes for the state. The overall tax total for February was near $2.4 million, as retail wagering generated an additional $642,663 in revenue.
Retail handle dipped sharply to $27.4 million for February, a 44.4% decline from January’s total of $49.3 million when former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase led the Bengals through the playoffs to the Super Bowl.
Bengals’ loss is Bayou’s gain
February #SportsBetting numbers for #Louisiana via LGCB. Revenue by Sport.
⚾️: $192,577
🏀: $5,570,859
🏈: $9,136,652
⚽️: -$201,643
💸 (parlay): $5,070,581
🤷 (other): $1,514,1423/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 14, 2022
The LGCB does not provide specific handle and revenue figures for the Super Bowl, but the $9.1 million overall revenue generated from football wagering implies there was plenty of action on the Bengals. Cincinnati lost to the Rams but covered the spread for many bettors, depending on the spread when the bet was placed. Retail sportsbooks took a pounding on pigskin bets, paying out nearly $700,000 more than wagers accepted.
The public also posted an online win in soccer wagering, coming out close to $250,000 ahead to create an overall operator net loss of $201,643. Revenues from parlay wagering appeared to return to normal — the total revenue generated there was close to $5.1 million, with online operators accounting for 87.2% of that amount after finishing more than $900,000 in the red in January.
Basketball was the second-biggest revenue generator with nearly $5.6 million, while the catch-all “other” category that included golf, hockey, and tennis provided more than $1.5 million to the overall total.
