You can gamble at several locations across the state, but you can’t play online casino games in Louisiana.
Gambling is entrenched in Louisiana’s history, with the state eventually accepting its importance by legalizing, licensing, and regulating a bustling casino scene. Now, legalized casino gaming is one of the major draws of cities like New Orleans in the tourism business.
However, likely to preserve the appeal of its riverboat, land-based, and Native American casinos, the Bayou State explicitly outlaws online gambling. So, while you’re welcome to play slots and cards in several venues, you can’t use an online casino in Louisiana.
Louisiana Legal Gambling Overview
Louisiana offers a wide variety of legal and regulated gambling options to the people of the state. They include retail and online sports betting, brick and mortar casinos, daily fantasy sports, horse racing and since 1991, the state lottery.
While land-based casinos were legalized in 1993, currently online casino gambling remains against the law in Louisiana. Even though it’s been legal in the state since 2020, Louisiana sports betting takes on a unique landscape. The state is divided into parishes and each parish was allowed to hold its own vote on whether to legalize sports betting. That means there are nine of 64 parishes in the state where sports betting remains illegal.
Louisiana’s Best Gambling Sites
When it comes to sports betting in Louisiana, you currently have eight options at your disposal. All eight offer online and mobile app wagering options.
Bet365 Louisiana: Going live on November 21, 2023, Bet365 became the eighth sports betting site to be operational in Louisiana. Known for their massive library of betting markets, early cash out options, parlay boosts and live in-play action, bet365 offers a two-fold signup option. You can go for a bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets offer, or elect to choose a first bet safety net of up to $1,000 in bonus bets should your first bet with them fail to cash.
BetRivers Louisiana: There’s a second chance bet of up to $500 if your first bet with BetRivers doesn’t come in for you. They offer plenty of regular promotions at BetRivers and as always, an industry-low 1x playthrough wagering requirement on any bonus funds you receive from them.
FanDuel: Already familiar in Louisiana due to their DFS site, that’s helped FanDuel make quick and easy inroads into the state with their sportsbook. It doesn’t hurt that they also have what is considered the easiest to operate app of any sports betting site. Newcomers to FanDuel get a bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets sign up offer.
BetMGM: They’ll start you off at BetMGM with a welcome bonus of as much as $1500 in bonus bets back if your first bet with their site isn’t a winner. A sleek and easy to navigate app, along with an excellent rewards program and plenty of markets and bet types make BetMGM a worthwhile option for bettors in the Bayou State.
Louisiana Online Casinos
You can play the state lottery online in Louisiana, but you can’t do your casino gambling online. That option remains illegal.
Louisiana does currently offer casino play at 24 brick and mortar sites. These include 14 riverboat casinos, four racinos, two land-based casinos and four native casinos.
It is illegal to gamble at an online casino in Louisiana. For a state that now revels in its gambling heritage and extensive range of top-class venues, Louisiana is very clearly against online casino gaming. Not only is the activity not permitted over the internet here, but the state has also shown that it’s willing to pursue outside and Louisiana gambling businesses that attempt to introduce online casino games to the state.
Based on the current laws in Louisiana and the overall market in states nearby BetMGM, Caesars and Twinspires are among the first casinos expected to go live in the state in 2024.
Louisiana Casino Sites & Apps (Expected):
- FanFuel Casino
- BetMGM Casino
- Caesars Casino
- DraftKings Casino
- BetRivers Casino
- Borgata Casino
- bet365
- Bally Casino
- Unibet USA
- Golden Nugget
In Louisiana, it is illegal to play online casino games. Just as you can’t access a legal Louisiana online casino, you can’t dig into the best online casino slots that have been popularized across the internet. The state seemingly sees the online options as a hefty competitor to the thriving, in-person Louisiana gambling industry, which stands to reason if you experience the live casino titles being released. View legal sites for blackjack and roulette online play.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Louisiana mobile gambling apps for Android and iOS devices are included under the rule of internet gambling being illegal. Play slot games, jackpot table games and more by using these legit casino apps. States that allow legal casino sites are: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia – view all online gambling USA websites here.
You can’t claim any online casino bonuses at any online casino in Louisiana. The Louisiana online casino scene is non-existent, and so you won’t be able to find and claim any legal bonuses or promotions while in the state.
In Louisiana, you can’t get any of the top bonuses from online casinos. Without access to an online casino in Louisiana, you can’t have access to any of the best bonus offers presented in legal internet gambling states.
Here is an updated list of the current casino bonuses and offers.
Top Land-based Casinos in Louisiana
In Louisiana, you can find high-quality casino establishments almost everywhere. There are 20 casino gaming establishments dotted around the state, with Baton Rouge and Bossier City boasting the highest number of casinos. Bossier City is also home to the highest-rated venue that you can find in the state, with Margaritaville Resort Casino taking the crown. If you’re on your way down to The Big Easy, though, you can’t go wrong with Harrah’s Casino New Orleans.
Louisiana Gambling Updates
In a short space of time, Louisiana has become one of the most open states for sports betting in the US, offering extensive options for both online and land-based betting on a variety of sports.
The online options, backed by big beasts of the gambling world like BetMGM and BetRivers, are based on the particular nature of the state’s legal framework, with the individual parishes that make up Louisiana each having a vote on sports betting. As a result, nine of the 64 parishes opted not to accept sports betting, so it is effectively banned in those areas, mainly located in the north east of the state; online sportsbooks have created technology that stops the apps working in those areas.
As well as the online options, many of the state’s casinos have created sportsbooks allowing bettors who prefer to place their wagers in a bricks and mortar location to do so; there is also horse race betting available and the well-established state lottery.
Betting in Louisiana
Both online and land-based sports betting is extensively available across the state, with only a few areas, or parishes, opting out of the near state-wide availability. The extensive nature of sports betting has seen visitors from Texas heading over the border to take advantage of the liberal gambling laws in the Pelican State.
Explore the top sportsbook apps and the current betting offers here.
Louisiana Online Casinos ↗
The state has no online casino legislation and none is planned at present. There are dozens of land-based casinos offering a range of gambling options including live dealer games as well as roulette and electronic gaming.
Online Poker ↗
There are no online legal poker sites available in the state of Louisiana but many of the land-based casinos offer extensive poker play.
Online Lottery ↗
The state lottery is over 30 years old and offers a variety of different games, with ticket sales open to anyone aged 21 or over. There are currently no online ticket sales available.
Louisiana Sweepstakes Casinos
The cupboard isn’t entirely bare in Louisiana when it comes to online casino play. You can opt to join up with a social casino. Also frequently called sweepstakes casinos, since you don’t gamble with or for real money, these casinos are governed by the same rules and regulations as other sweepstakes competitions.
Stake.us Casino: A worldwide site that’s operated since 2017, the Stake.us Casino offers a massive library of over 3000 games to play. They come from such established game developers as Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming and Play’n GO. They also offer an excellent mobile app option.
Gambino Slots: Open for business in 2015, Gambino Slots boasts of more than 3 million customers around the globe. They really put the social in social casino, enabling players to create their own avatar and interact with other players via the Gambino Slots community. Gambino Slots starts off new players with 200 free spins and 100,000 free gold coins.
Fortune Coins Casino: Offering an array of some 250 slot games, along with video poker and game show themes, the Fortune Coins Casino went into business in 2021. They deliver to players daily no deposit bonus offers, a refer a friend bonus and a welcome offer of as many of 20 million free gold coins.
Louisiana Online Gambling FAQs
Both online and land-based sports betting is legal in 55 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana. It is not yet possible to play online casino or poker games.
The legal gambling age is 21 for all betting, including lottery sales.
Yes, casino winnings in Louisiana are taxed at a rate of 21.5%.
Gambling in the state comes under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
While gambling can be enjoyable, it can also become a problem for some people, and can spiral out of control. If you, or a friend or relative, is struggling to cope with their gambling, help is available. Louisiana – National Council on Problem Gambling (ncpgambling.org).
DFS events are legal in 47 of the 64 parishes that make up the state of Louisiana.
There is live horse racing at a number of tracks in Louisiana with racinos offering live races, betting and casino games. Online horse race betting is also available.
Baton Rouge is the home of riverboat casinos, but you’ll also find some in Bossier City, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.