Online gambling in Louisiana centres on legal sports betting, pari-mutuel horse racing and daily fantasy; real-money online casino and poker aren’t legal here. This guide covers what’s legal, who’s licensed by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, and how to get started.
Louisiana brought mobile sports betting live in January 2022, and it has quickly become a popular pastime in a state that loves its football. Two things make Louisiana distinctive: betting is only legal in the 55 of 64 parishes that voted to allow it, and in 2025 the state sharply raised its online tax. This guide covers what’s legal, where, and how to start.
| Louisiana gambling: key facts | |
|---|---|
| Online sports betting | Yes, since January 2022, in 55 of 64 parishes |
| Online casinos | No |
| Online poker | No |
| Sweepstakes casinos | Banned from August 1, 2026 (HB 883) |
| Horse racing ADW | Yes |
| Legal age | 21+ for sports betting and casinos; 18+ for pari-mutuel |
| Regulator | Louisiana Gaming Control Board |
| Sports betting tax | 21.5% online, 10% retail |
| Helpline | 1-877-770-STOP (7867) |
In this article 15 sections
- Is online gambling legal in Louisiana?
- What’s legal online in Louisiana, vertical by vertical
- Parish-by-parish, with a higher 2025 tax
- Louisiana sportsbooks
- Popular bets and Louisiana sports
- Choosing a Louisiana sportsbook
- Bet types explained
- Football culture and a maturing market
- How to start betting in Louisiana
- Online casinos in Louisiana
- Sweepstakes casinos in Louisiana
- Horse racing betting in Louisiana
- Is online gambling safe in Louisiana?
- Responsible gambling in Louisiana
- Louisiana gambling in 2027
Is online gambling legal in Louisiana?
Yes, for sports betting in most of the state. Louisiana voters approved sports betting parish by parish in 2020, and mobile wagering launched in January 2022, regulated by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. It is legal in the 55 parishes that voted yes, covering the large majority of the population; nine mostly rural parishes opted out. You must be 21 or older and physically located in a participating parish to bet, confirmed by geolocation. Real-money online casino is not legal in Louisiana.
What’s legal online in Louisiana, vertical by vertical
- Louisiana sportsbooks: legal in 55 parishes. Eight mobile sportsbooks cover every major sport and league.
- Louisiana online horse racing: legal. Pari-mutuel wagering via ADW apps, plus four live tracks.
- Online casino: not legal.
- Sweepstakes casinos: banned. HB 883 and HB 53 took effect on August 1, 2026.
- Online poker: not legal.
- Prediction markets: offered under federal CFTC oversight rather than state licensing; see our prediction markets guide.
- Daily fantasy sports and lottery: DFS operates under its own rules, separate from sportsbooks; the Louisiana Lottery sells tickets at retail only, and iLottery bills were filed in 2026.
Parish-by-parish, with a higher 2025 tax
The big 2025 change was tax: Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB 639, raising Louisiana’s online sports betting rate from 15% to 21.5%, effective August 1, 2025. A quarter of sports wagering tax revenue now goes to the SPORT Fund for 11 public Division I athletic programs, including LSU, Louisiana Tech and McNeese State. That puts Louisiana among the higher-taxed markets and may, over time, trim the most generous promotions. The parish system is the other quirk: if your geolocation shows you in one of the nine opt-out parishes (Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, Jackson, La Salle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll or Winn), the apps won’t take your bet even though the rest of the state is wide open.
Louisiana sportsbooks
Eight online sportsbooks are licensed: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365, Fanatics, theScore Bet and BetRivers. None is an American.Bet partner, so we cover them editorially, with no offers or Promo Codes. Our Louisiana sportsbook guide has the full operator table, each book’s retail properties and the college betting rules.
Popular bets and Louisiana sports
Louisiana bettors play the standard markets: moneylines, point spreads, totals and parlays and same-game parlays. This is football country: the NFL’s Saints at the Caesars Superdome and, above all, LSU football at Tiger Stadium drive enormous handle, with the NBA’s Pelicans and college basketball adding to the mix. You can bet on LSU and other in-state colleges, but the Gaming Control Board banned props on individual college athletes in 2024.
Choosing a Louisiana sportsbook
In Louisiana, first confirm the app works in your parish, then compare offers. Look at the welcome bonus structure (first-bet safety net versus bonus bets), how deeply each book prices LSU and Saints markets, live-betting and same-game-parlay options, and withdrawal speed. With the higher 21.5% tax now in effect, the most generous promotions can come and go, so check what’s live before you sign up rather than assuming last season’s offer still stands.
Bet types explained
New to betting in Louisiana? The staples are straightforward. The moneyline is the simplest: a straight pick of the winner, say the Saints to win outright. A point spread evens out a mismatch by handicapping the favorite, while a total asks only whether the combined score clears a line. From there Louisiana bettors build parlays (several legs, all must win), same-game parlays from a single Saints game, season-long futures, and live in-play markets that move as the game unfolds.
Football culture and a maturing market
For a mid-sized state, Louisiana bets big, and the reason is football. LSU is a genuine statewide institution, and autumn Saturdays, plus Saints Sundays, drive some of the most concentrated betting handle in the South. Mobile accounts for the overwhelming majority of wagers, though 19 retail sportsbooks operate at the state’s riverboat casinos, racetracks and Caesars New Orleans, the lone land-based casino.
How to start betting in Louisiana
Getting started in Louisiana takes minutes: confirm you are 21+ and physically in a participating parish, choose a licensed Louisiana app, and register with real details so identity checks clear. Deposit, set your limits before your first wager, and read any welcome offer’s rollover terms before you opt in.
Online casinos in Louisiana
You can gamble at many venues across the state, but you can’t play online casino games in Louisiana.
Gambling is entrenched in Louisiana’s history, with the state eventually legalizing, licensing and regulating a busy casino scene. Legal casino gaming is one of the major draws of cities like New Orleans and Lake Charles.
However, likely to preserve the appeal of its riverboat, land-based and Native American casinos, the Bayou State outlaws online casino gambling. So, while you’re welcome to play slots and cards at many venues, you can’t use a real-money online casino in Louisiana, and there are no legal online casino apps or bonuses to claim. No iGaming bill has passed, and the state has shown it is willing to pursue businesses that try to bring online casino-style games into Louisiana.
For the states where real-money iGaming is live, see our online casino guide.
Top land-based casinos in Louisiana
Louisiana has a wide spread of riverboat, racino and tribal casinos, with clusters in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and Shreveport-Bossier City. In New Orleans, Caesars New Orleans (formerly Harrah’s) is the state’s only land-based commercial casino. Bossier City is home to Margaritaville Resort Casino, Horseshoe Bossier City and Boomtown Bossier City, and Lake Charles has L’Auberge, Golden Nugget and Horseshoe. The Coushatta Tribe’s casino in Kinder, home to The Rez sportsbook, is one of the tribal options.
Sweepstakes casinos in Louisiana
Sweepstakes casinos are now illegal in Louisiana. Gov. Landry vetoed a ban in 2025, saying the games were already prohibited, and the attorney general and Gaming Control Board then sent more than 40 cease-and-desist letters. In 2026 lawmakers passed HB 883, unanimously in both chambers, which defines dual-currency online games as illegal gambling and raises the maximum fine to $100,000, and HB 53, which brings gambling violations under the state’s racketeering law. Landry signed both, and they took effect on August 1, 2026. None of our sweepstakes partners accepts Louisiana players.
Horse racing betting in Louisiana
Louisiana horseplayers can bet through ADW racebooks including AmWager, TwinSpires, FanDuel Racing, TVG, DRF Bets and DraftKings Horse. The pari-mutuel age is 18, though AmWager and many others require 21. Live racing runs at four tracks: the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, home of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby; Louisiana Downs in Bossier City; Delta Downs in Vinton; and Evangeline Downs in Opelousas.
Read our AmWager review Visit AmWager →
Is online gambling safe in Louisiana?
Yes, as long as you bet with operators licensed by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and you’re in a participating parish. Regulated apps are audited, safeguard your funds and verify your identity, age and location on each bet. Offshore sites that aren’t state-licensed offer none of those protections, so confirm a sportsbook is regulated in Louisiana before you deposit.
Responsible gambling in Louisiana
Keep Louisiana betting in proportion: it is entertainment, and your stake should be money you can afford to lose. Use the limit, time-out and self-exclusion controls every licensed Louisiana app provides, and set them up front rather than mid-streak.
The Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline, 1-877-770-STOP (7867), is free, confidential and open 24/7 by call or text, with live chat at helpforgambling.org. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board’s self-exclusion list bars you from casinos, online sportsbooks and licensed betting venues for five years; you sign up in person before a Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement agent. General advice is at GambleAware.org and in our responsible gambling guide.
Louisiana gambling in 2027
Sweepstakes enforcement
HB 883 and HB 53 took effect on August 1, 2026, with fines up to $100,000 and racketeering exposure for operators, payment processors and marketers. 2027 will show how hard the attorney general uses the new tools.
iLottery and prop bets
HB 643 and SB 119 proposed online lottery sales, and SB 354 proposed barring prop bets and micro-bets. Both debates are likely to return to the legislature.
The nine holdout parishes
HB 72 proposed fresh sports betting referendums in the nine parishes that voted no in 2020. A yes vote would extend legal betting statewide.
Is online sports betting legal in Louisiana?
Yes, in the 55 of 64 parishes that voted to allow it. Mobile betting launched in January 2022, regulated by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. You must be 21+ and physically in a participating parish.
Is online casino legal in Louisiana?
No. Real-money online casino games are not legal in Louisiana. Sports betting (in participating parishes), DFS and horse racing are the legal online options.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Louisiana?
No. HB 883 and HB 53, signed by Gov. Landry, took effect on August 1, 2026, and make dual-currency sweepstakes games illegal gambling.
What is Louisiana's sports betting tax rate?
21.5% on online revenue since August 1, 2025, raised from 15%, with a quarter of tax revenue directed to college athletics. Retail is taxed at 10%.
What is the legal gambling age in Louisiana?
21 for casinos and sports betting. Pari-mutuel horse racing is open from 18, though many online racebooks require 21.
Where can I get help for a gambling problem in Louisiana?
Call or text the Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline at 1-877-770-STOP (7867), 24/7, or chat at helpforgambling.org. The Gaming Control Board also runs a five-year self-exclusion list.
21+. Must be physically located in a participating Louisiana parish. Gambling problem? Call or text 1-877-770-STOP.