DFS Could Launch In Louisiana Just In Time For NFL Season

• Daily fantasy sports (DFS) could launch in Louisiana in time for the NFL season.
• FanDuel has been working closely with the Louisiana Gaming Board.
• The 17 parishes that voted against fantasy sports will not have access.

BATON ROUGE, La. – After nearly three years since adding daily fantasy sports (DFS) to its legislation, Louisiana is finally on pace to launch and it may come just in time for the 2021-2022 NFL season.

FanDuel has been working with the Louisiana Gaming Board in an attempt to be one of the first entities to bring its DFS products to the Pelican State.

Louisiana voted to approve daily fantasy sports back in 2018 so the impending launch has been a long time coming.

DFS In Louisiana

So far, two operators have applied to bring their fantasy sports contests to Louisiana residents, bringing a lot of optimism that the launch will be in time for the NFL season. These operators were FanDuel and DraftKings.

“It will definitely happen before the fall,” said Chuck McNeal, Major of the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division. “As long as my investigators are getting all the documentation and paperwork they need.”

A total of 47 parishes voted to approve DFS back in 2018, and these will be the only markets where DFS operations will be available. With geofencing technology, the 17 parishes that voted against DFS will be blocked.

With DFS, players will be able to draft real-world athletes and build their own fantasy teams and compete with other fantasy teams. Residents will be able to play for and win real-world money, making this a major draw in the area.

FanDuel and DraftKings both were major players in working to bring DFS to Louisiana and also to bring regulated sports betting. Both operations donated hundreds of thousands to the Fairness for Fantasy Sports Louisiana PAC in 2018 and the Louisiana Wins Campaign in 2020.

“We’re definitely keeping tabs on those and looking to help support those who are advocating sports betting in any way that we can,” said Stacie Stern governmental affairs director at FanDuel. “To be able to have legal, regulated sports betting in the Bayou State, I think will be really important for the people of Louisiana and for the state to generate a little bit of revenue.”

Since the Louisiana sports betting market has yet to launch, DFS will likely be extremely popular should it be available in the state during the NFL season. The NFL season is usually the most popular time for DFS in other markets.

As residents await the official launch of legal sports betting officials may be able to gauge how strong the market could be with the DFS market’s potential success.

News tags: Baton Rouge | Chuck McNeal | Daily Fantasy Sports | DFS | DraftKings | FanDuel | Louisiana | Louisiana Gaming Board | Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division | Stacie Stern