The chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board says state regulators are making progress cracking down on illegal offshore betting operations, while help could also be on the way from the federal government.
Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed legislation from this year’s session that sought to ban online “sweepstakes” casinos, which he said are already illegal in Louisiana.
He also argued that “overly broad” language in Senate Bill 181, which passed both chambers unanimously, could impede the Gaming Control Board’s efforts to crack down on “bad actors.”
“As such, this bill is a solution in search of a problem that is already being solved by our current system,” Landry said in his veto message.
A few days later, the board underlined his point and announced that it had issued more than 40 cease-and-desist letters to “offshore wagering platforms and online sweepstakes operators whose business models have been found to circumvent Louisiana gaming laws and regulations.”
In response to Senate Education Chair Rick Edmonds’ request, Attorney General Liz Murrill issued an opinion backing Landry’s legal assessment, but noted that SB181 “would have been a valuable tool” for “memorializing the illegality, strengthening enforcement actions, and holding entities accountable.”
While operators dispute the legal argument, many have notified the board that they plan to comply and stop operating in the state, Gaming Control Board Chair Christopher Hebert told LaPolitics.
“We do consider that a big win,” he said.
Hebert says the board has been meeting with the AG’s office to discuss more ways to deal with illegal operators, which often are based outside the U.S. He says state officials have also met with federal authorities to talk about ways to disrupt operations through the payment platforms.
“Some of these illegal operations may be an issue for the credit card companies,” he adds.
Landry appointed Hebert to chair the Gaming Control Board last summer. He is the board’s first Black chair and served nearly two decades as an assistant attorney general for the state, including eight years directing the Gaming Division where he helped craft the current regulations.
From the state’s perspective, the betting black market likely subtracts from the tax dollars the state is able to collect. But blocking illegal operators also protects the betting public, Hebert says. If you win a bet with a shady company that decides not to pay up, you have no recourse, he notes.
Hebert says some such companies falsely claim on social media to be affiliated with regulated entities. For example, one posted that “L’Auberge Casino Baton Rouge is now online,” with a link to an illegal platform.
Louisiana generally does not permit online gambling except for mobile sports betting, which is helping to drive revenue growth for Louisiana gaming.
“Here in Louisiana, we love our sports, and we love our gambling,” Hebert says.
This year, lawmakers approved House Bill 639 by Rep. Neil Riser to hike taxes on online sports betting from 15% to 21.5%. Hebert doesn’t expect the change to hinder the legal betting market, noting that the initial proposal called for a 32.5% rate, the same as what is charged for truckstop video poker.
“I think the industry worked with our legislators to come up with a percentage that everyone could live with,” Hebert says.
Allowing the casino “riverboats” (which haven’t cruised anywhere in decades) to move 1,200 feet inland also seems to be benefiting operators that have made the move and boosting state collections. Having the casino on land rather than floating on a barge helps to facilitate building adjacent amenities such as concert venues.
Expect to see more proposals for land-side facilities in the coming months, Hebert says.
“One of the things that the board is always pushing for is new economic development in our state,” he says. “And we want to be a destination state.”
For another two years at least, Louisiana will continue to be a destination for bettors who live in Texas, where most forms of gambling are illegal. A push to legalize “destination resort” casinos and sports betting ran up against staunch opposition during this year’s Lone Star State legislative session, and lawmakers there don’t convene again until 2027.
—They said it: “When there’s no boogeyman, they try to find one.” –Gov. Jeff Landry on Republican infighting, to KEEL