La. gaming showing no signs of slowing down; here’s where all the money goes

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - It’s been two years since sports betting became legalized in La. Leaders said it has brought in more than $80 million of revenue to the state budget.

Super Bowl, the most popular and largest sports betting weekend, is expected to drive in even more money to casinos across the state.

Since Texas does not have legalized sports betting, Ronnie Johns with the Louisiana Gaming Control Board said Lake Charles, Shreveport, Bossier, and New Orleans will see many out-of-state folks.

Have you ever thought about where all that money goes?

Johns said early childhood education gets 25%, local government gets 10% and 5% goes to compulsive gambling.

That money is highly regulated, in fact, he said La. is one of the most regulated states in America.

As of right now, they have $1 billion of new investment going on. He added new construction going on will pay dividends in terms of the state budget.

“The revenue pulled in stays in our state budget,” said Johns. “The legislature was very specific, in where they wanted that money to go to as far as sports betting goes. Same thing with the casinos. Same thing with video poker, same with the race track casinos. That money generates a significant amount for our state budget.”

Where is the future of gaming going when it comes to casinos?

Johns said it’s land-based casinos. The Belle in Baton Rouge is under construction to go from a riverboat to a land-based property right now. It will be a $130 million investment by Queen Entertainment.

He said you’ll see that new property open its doors within the next year.

Click here to report a typo.