The state of Louisiana has seen three pieces of legislation seeking to implement daily fantasy sports. The bills that have been introduced so far also seek to legalize sports betting and online gambling in order for the state to expand its offerings.
As mentioned above, the beginning of March saw three pieces of legislation emerge at the Louisiana State Capitol.
The first one of the gambling-related bills, called HB 245, was filed by the member of the Democratic Party Major Thibaut on March 1st. Then, on March 5th, another bill pushing for regulation of daily fantasy sports emerged. The proposed piece of legislation, called HB 484 was filed by House Representative Kirk Talbot. On the same day, another bill under the name SB 322 was filed. The latter’s sponsor, Senator Daniel Martiny, is trying to pave the way for legalizing iGaming in a number of counties across the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana Online Gambling and DFS Legislation Push
Currently, sports betting, daily fantasy sports, iGaming and online lottery are officially banned in the state. Now, the state of Louisiana is making some efforts to change the currently-existing legislation and regulatory framework in Louisiana. As revealed above, the beginning of March saw three new attempts for gambling expansion made, with three new bills being proposed.
The first one of the three gambling-related bills, HB 245, was filed last Thursday by Major Thibaut, a representative of the Democratic Party. The presented piece of legislation is seeking expansion of the gambling activities which are currently allowed in the state of Louisiana. For the time being, there are four horse racing facilities across the state, including Fair Grounds, Delta Downs, Louisiana Downs and Evangeline Downs.
In case that the proposed bill HB 245 is given the green light by local legislature, the state residents would be provided with the opportunity to place bets on various types of sports events. Under the provisions of the recently-filed piece of legislation, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) would be given the right to regulate sports betting in the state.
As mentioned above, the second bill, called HB 484, was introduced on Monday by Representative Kirk Talbot, in an attempt to pave the way to daily fantasy sports (DFS). Under the proposed piece of legislation, the “Louisiana Fantasy Sports Contests Act” would be created to provide the necessary regulation of DFS contests in the local gambling market. Once again, it would be the LGCB which would be the authority having the final word on regulatory frameworks being used in Louisiana.
Under the proposed HB 484, the Louisiana residents would make the final decision whether daily fantasy sports contest would be allowed on the territory of the state. If the piece of legislation proceeds to a further stage in local legislature, the matter is expected to be taken to a state-wide referendum that would take place in October 2019.
A few days ago, Senator Daniel Martiny filed SB 322 seeking to legalize online gambling in some state’s districts. Under the provisions of the proposed legislation, the decision whether iGaming to be permitted or not would be made on a district-by-district basis, meaning that each district in the state of Louisiana would be given the chance to individually decide if a referendum on the matter to take place.
With the proposed bill, it would be possible for the 64 parishes in the state to decide whether to offer online poker, slots and casino-like table games.
