Another two retail sportsbooks are on the way for Louisiana sports betting.
Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns signed two LA sports betting licenses Monday, effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The licenses clear the way for a DraftKings Sportsbook at Golden Nugget Casino Lake Charles and a sportsbook at Penn National Gaming‘s L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles.
With seven outstanding applications, Johns hopes to sign an additional batch of licenses next week. Johns said mobile operators should be cleared for launch by early January 2022.
DraftKings Louisiana sportsbook launch
According to a release, a 10,000-square-foot DraftKings Sportsbook is under construction and will be the largest in Lake Charles, a city with several large casinos near the border of Texas. Lake Charles is less than a three-hour drive from Houston.
Until the permanent location is complete, a temporary sportsbook is open and there are 30 kiosks spread throughout the casino. This summer, DraftKings was the first operator to receive LGCB approval for daily fantasy sports.
“Since launching daily fantasy sports in Louisiana, we have been eager to introduce our fans here to the DraftKings Sportsbook experience, which will provide customers with a new level of engagement with several of America’s most popular leagues overlapping across the NFL, NBA, NHL, and NCAA football,” Matt Kalish, co-founder and president of DraftKings North America, said in the release. “Joining forces with Golden Nugget and their renowned casino brand, we look forward to providing the fervent fan base in the Bayou State with a premier retail sportsbook experience.”
Open Louisiana sports betting
On Oct. 29, Johns signed four licenses. Two retail Caesars Sportsbook locations opened Oct. 31 at Harrah’s New Orleans and Horseshoe Casino.
On Nov. 1, Penn National Gaming opened retail sportsbooks at Boomtown Casino and the L’Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge. There is also a retail sportsbook at the tribal-owned Paragon Casino.
Johns said 13 of the possible 20 casinos applied for their licenses. He expects the other seven to apply before the Dec. 31 deadline set by the Louisiana legislature.
