Louisiana sportsbooks again performed the voodoo that they do so well in July, as operators claimed $20.7 million in gross sports wagering revenue for the month. This was according to the state police, which track such matters and released the figures Monday.
While the strong July figure was nearly double June’s total of $10.9 million, it was still just the fourth-best haul in Louisiana’s seven months with mobile wagering. The 17.5% hold, however, is the number that stands out. It is the highest recorded in the state’s brief history and well above the 15% recorded in May that was the highest win rate for any state in the post-PASPA era.
Louisiana operators have posted holds of 10% or higher in six of nine overall months of activity, including four occasions this year since mobile was launched in January. The four double-digit win rates in 2022 have been 11.2% or higher, with July’s more than double June’s 8.2% mark.
The state was eligible to tax all but $131,611 of that gross revenue, which totaled $20.6 million and resulted in $2.4 million entering state coffers. Louisiana’s seven mobile operators are allowed to write off $5 million in promotional credits per year, and those who still have room in their budgets are likely keeping their powder dry until the start of the NFL season in the coming weeks.
Strong gross revenue despite retail hoops woes
July #SportsBetting numbers for #Louisiana via LSP, a 🧵. GGR by category
⚾️ $5.66M
🏀 $156.7K
🏈 $425.2K
⚽️ $474.9K
💸 (parlay) $12.89M
🤷♂️ (other) $997K2/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 22, 2022
Operator gross revenue could actually have been higher had it not been for a rough month for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in basketball. The state’s 17 retail outlets paid out $350,653 more than wagers accepted, leaving operators with a net below $160,000 when it came to hoops. Overall, the brick-and-mortar books claimed $1.4 million in revenue from $15 million handle, resulting in a healthy 9.3% hold.
Unsurprisingly, parlay revenue more than compensated for basketball shortcomings, as operators totaled $12.9 million in gross revenue. The Louisiana State Police does not disclose handle by either operator or category, but it appears likely the operator win rate for parlays exceeded 20% given the robust overall hold.
Parlay revenue has reached eight figures in four of the last five months, totaling $60.9 million in that span, a promising sign for operators given that came outside football season. The overall $70.5 million since launch accounts for slightly more than half the $139.2 million in gross revenue generated over the first nine months.
Baseball was the other big revenue generator for July with $5.7 million, the second time in three months it exceeded $5 million. The catch-all “other” category, which includes golf and hockey, had $1 million in revenue, while soccer and football combined for $900,000.
The $103.3 million in online wagering pushed Louisiana’s total over $1 billion all-time, while the state cleared $1 billion in overall handle in May.
Will there be a 10% national hold for July?
Running national July 2022 #SportsBetting numbers: (AR,CT,IA,IN,DC,DE,LA, MD,MI,MS,MT,NJ,NY,OR,PA,TN,WV)
GGR: $2,705,207,161
GGR: $266,079,955
GGR: Win Rate 9.8358%
AGR: $249,357,925
AGR WR: 9.2177%
Promo/Ded: $16,722,030
Taxes: $66,662,458#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 22, 2022
Though there are still multiple large-market states, most notably Illinois and Nevada, that have yet to report July numbers, the Bayou State’s performance increased the gross revenue nationwide hold more than one-third of a percentage point to 9.8%. That is on pace to be the highest monthly mark since a 10.1% hold recorded in October 2019, when only 12 states were accepting wagers.
Ten of the 17 states and jurisdictions that have published revenue reports for July reported double-digit win rates, with New Jersey‘s 8.5% currently the lowest on the list and the only one below 9%.
