Over 50% of Louisiana’s traditional casinos have applied to the gambling authority for licenses to handle sports wagering.
13 out of the 20 casinos have asked for a “temporary certificate of operation” from the state gambling regulator. The remaining seven are expected to apply before the January 1st, 2022 deadline.
As soon as the casinos receive their licenses, they will be permitted to start offering sports bets, although these will be limited to on-premises and in-person at the moment.
The Gaming Control Board has said that it doesn’t see any casinos obtaining their licenses in the coming weeks but it may happen “very soon”.
The Louisiana State Police is still required to vet operators, their personnel and betting procedures as part of the licensing process.
The authority also needs to check that the casinos have set up a separate lounge for over 21 year olds on their properties, as required by state sports betting rules. Some of the casinos already have plans to build multi-million-dollar sportsbook facilities.
The police force has had to deal with the effects of Hurricane Ida over the past few weeks, and there is therefore a backlog in the vetting process.
According to the executive director of the Louisiana Casino Association, Wade Duty, many of the casinos are set to launch as soon as the paperwork is completed.