Louisiana Casino Gaming Drops in May As Sports Betting Revenue Spikes

In Louisiana, the retail casino gaming industry saw across-the-board slumps in gaming revenue in May while sports gambling revenue saw an increase that was driven by a much larger hold by online sportsbooks.

Retail gaming revenue in Louisiana’s four gaming segments dropped to $276.7 million in May, down 5.3% from the April figure ($292.3 million). The retail gaming industry in the state is made up of video gaming, riverboat casinos, one land casino, and racinos (slots at racetracks).

Each of those segments saw a drop in adjusted gross revenue in a month-to-month comparison with April. There are no real money online gaming options in Louisiana.

Video gaming saw $69.4 million in AGR in May compared with $73.48 million in April, according to figures reported by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. There are 12,000-plus video gaming terminals in Louisiana in locations from bars and restaurants to truck stops.

Riverboat casinos – there are 12 of them in the state – had nearly $157 million in AGR compared to $161.1 million in April. L’Auberge Lake Charles led the state with $30.65 million in revenue, followed closely by Golden Nugget Lake Charles at $29.3 million.

The only land-based casino, Harrah’s New Orleans, did about $20.8 million in May compared to almost $27 million in April.

And the state’s four racinos had about $29.58 million in AGR in May compared to April’s $30.76 million. Delta Downs in Vinton accounted for more than half of that, with $15.2 million in AGR.

In a year-over-year comparison, May 2022 saw an average decline of 9.54% from May 2021 ($305.9 million).

Combined, online and retail sports wagering net proceeds were about $25.3 million in May compared to about $5.5 million in April, an increase of 351.7%.

The seven online sports wagering operators in Louisiana saw $22.63 million in net proceeds, a huge increase over the $3.3 million from April when sportsbooks took a major hit. The state’s online sports wagering, which launched in late January, generated about $2.46 million in taxes in May.

The big month-to-month difference in mobile sports wagering was due to win percentage. The bettors did relatively well in April as the books had a slim 1.8% hold but in May, the sportsbooks had a comeback with a win percentage of 15.9%. Parlays made up the largest portion of net proceeds, nearly $11 million.

In retail sports betting, the casinos with sportsbooks saw net proceeds of about $2.7 million, an increase of 15.9% over April. Taxes paid from retail sports betting was more than $268,000.

May’s total sports betting handle was $171.1 million, down 17.8% from April ($208.255 million). But the retail handle went up 28.3%, from $22.2 million in April to about $28.5 million.