Louisiana Agrees on DFS Regulations, LGCB To Launch Licensing Process

Louisiana lawmakers agreed Wednesday on Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) regulations, prompting the LGCB to start licensing operators.

Forty-Seven Parishes Will Offer DFS

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) play in Louisiana could soon be regulated, more than two years after its legalization in 47 of 64 parishes. The state’s House and Senate Committees in charge of gambling unanimously approved the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) and the attorney general’s gaming division’s proposed regulations on Wednesday. The LGCB can now begin the process of licensing gaming operators.

The LGCB is expected to extensively audit gaming operators, including DFS leaders DraftKings and FanDuel.

In November 2018, 47 parishes voted in favor of DFS but Louisiana’s residents have been waiting for the legislature to set betting regulations. The regulatory process started earlier this year and Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill for an 8% DFS tax rate in July.

Under the DFS rules, fantasy sports betting operators must be licensed by the LGCB. Players have to be at least 21 years old and registered to play.

Fantasy sports is a type of game in which players assemble imaginary teams including real athletes. As per the new regulations, participants will not be allowed to create teams involving underage players. Bettors from all over Louisiana will be able to log into iGaming platforms if they travel to any of the 47 parishes which approved DFS.

Future Sports Betting Regulations

Sports betting became legal in 55 parishes during the election round in November. Lawmakers will agree on the details of sports betting operations in April, as it did for DFS. However, the regulatory process could go faster and smoother than it did for fantasy sports.

Louisiana regulators will have to agree on key questions, such as the potential offering of both retail and online wagering, what types of business will be licensed for sports betting, and the tax rate. The state features a large array of gaming properties, from land-based to riverboat casinos and racetracks.

Louisianan Expansion

Top sports betting operator DraftKings recently shared its plans to expand its footprint in the US as many states passed wagering legislations in November. CEO Jason Robins said on December 10 that the company hopes that more states adopt sports betting bills and “regulatory frameworks to bring this activity into a legal, safe environment.”

As Louisiana, Maryland and South Dakota authorized sports betting, DraftKings’ stock soared over the past months.

Similarly, FanDuel will develop its sports betting operations in the nation, the operator’s CEO Matt King said last month. In Tennessee, the company launched its iGaming offerings on the day the state’s lawmakers approved sports betting. This is uncommon, as the process usually takes from six to twelve months.