In September, Louisiana Revenue Almost Identical to August

The gaming figures for September in Louisiana were almost identical to the numbers from August.

In September, the four segments of the state’s gambling – riverboat casinos, one land-based casino, video gaming and racinos (slots at racetracks) – combined for $214,873,177 in revenue, a difference of barely more than $50,000 from August’s $214,822,754. That’s an increase of just 0.02%.

In a year-over-year comparison, September’s numbers were 19% higher than 12 months earlier. Louisiana gaming revenue was about $180.5 million in September 2020.

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Louisiana’s August numbers were greatly affected by Hurricane Ida, which was a major factor in driving gaming numbers down 27.4% compared to July’s $295.9 million in revenue.

Breakdown of Louisiana Revenue

The segment with the biggest increase in Louisiana gaming revenue for September was riverboat casinos. The state’s 13 operating riverboats saw a jump from $119 million in August to $127.55 million in adjusted gross revenue.

L’Auberge Lake Charles topped the category in revenue for September with $26.56 million, followed by Golden Nugget Lake Charles with 22.674 million.

The other segment to gain ground last month was racinos, which increased 2.7% from $23.55 million to $24.18 million.

Video gaming outlets throughout the state accounted for $55.19 million in revenue, down 5.8% from August’s $58.57 million. The state’s only land-based casino, Harrah’s New Orleans, fell from $13.67 million to $7.96 million in a month-over-month comparison.

Louisiana Sports Betting Still Stalled

Hurricane Ida didn’t just put a damper on casino revenues this summer. It also delayed the implementation of sports betting in Louisiana, almost a year after voters in 55 of the state’s 64 parishes approved a ballot measure to legalize it.

Louisiana Gaming Control Board head Ronnie Johns said Thursday during a board meeting there is still no exact date for mobile sports betting to launch.

The state police are involved in the process of reviewing applications from sportsbooks to launch in the Bayou State’s market, but their efforts were delayed because they were deployed to help with hurricane recovery efforts.

In the meantime, Louisiana’s first retail sports betting outlet launched earlier in October, at the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville. The tribal casino partnered with Betfred to operate the sportsbook.