Online Sports Betting Goes Live on Friday
By now, you've probably heard all of the DraftKings adds on this station (code word "Pelican" gets you $100 in free bets). You've also probably seen the insane amount of sports betting commercials on local and national TV.
The day Louisiana's sports gamblers gamers bettors have been waiting for has finally arrived.
Greg Hilburn with the USA Today Network broke the news Wednesday morning.
According to WWL-TV, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved six online sportsbooks to being operations on Friday. They are DraftKings, FanDuels, BetMGM, Caesar's, BetFred, and BetRivers.
Sports fans around Louisiana are rejoicing. While in-casino betting has been ongoing since October, this will mark the first time Louisiana betters can (legally) use their phones to place bets on sporting events around the world. However, some parishes will not allow sports betting within their borders. Voters in Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, Vernon, West Carroll, and Winn Parishes voted "no" on the statewide referendum to permit online sports betting. Bettors will not be allowed to post their bets while in those areas because of geofencing technology embedded within the betting apps.
In fact, that geofencing technology was one of the hold-ups for online sports betting. Gaming Control Board commissioner Ronnie Johns said on multiple occasions that officials want to make sure all of the technology necessary to upholding the law and the will of voters was in place before allowing the apps to go live.
Today's news is welcome news for Louisiana's bettors. Some of them have taken to Twitter to express their excitement.