Louisiana DFS To Be Taxed At 8% As Governor Signs Bill

Louisiana now has a legal tax rate of 8% set for its legal Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) industry with the signing of House Bill 64 by Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday.
The Bayou State expects to receive $375,000 in annual revenue from the DFS market that will be given to the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund.
Legal Daily Fantasy Sports in Louisiana is expected to launch to the 47 parishes that voted for it by the start of the 2020 NFL season.

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, signed House Bill 64 into law on Monday putting an 8% tax rate on all revenue made through Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) wagers.

The Coronavirus Pandemic fast-tracked the bill’s movement in the House as Louisiana is looking for more sources of revenue that will contribute to its ever-growing budget crisis due to the outbreak.

The 47 parishes in the Bayou State that voted to have legal DFS in their communities will see the tax rate as well as the industry launch in time for the 2020 NFL season.

The Louisiana DFS Industry

In 2018, Louisianans saw the topic of DFS legalization on their November ballots. Only 17 of the 64 parishes declined a legal DFS market. However, the parishes that voted in favor of the legislation will now have the industry introduced to them by the start of the upcoming football season.

This was a contributing factor that led to LA HB 64 and it’s quick transition from House Bill 64 to Act No. 34. The timeline from introductions in the House to being signed into law took about a month in total.

The 47 parishes will have DFS and various money contests through DFS, which was also made legal this session (through House Bill 357 ) to bet on NFL matchups.

The National Football League holds the highest rate for bets placed with sportsbooks, making it an opportune time to roll out the new gaming market to get the most beneficial outcome for their newest revenue stream.

Although DFS became legal in 2018, it was not able to be executed until regulations (LA HB 357) and a tax rate (LA HB 64) were approved and signed into law.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) has been appointed to oversee all DFS rules and regulations as the regulatory body of the industry.

They have been given a deadline of August 1 to come up with a draft of rules and regulations so that licenses can begin to be issued. All licensees will be required to pay anywhere within the range of $5,000 to $40,000 in application fees based on a sliding scale.

Top names like DraftKings and FanDuel will be paying $40,000 as they are the Kingpins among all DFS operators in the nation.

Legal DFS Is Coming To Louisiana

Now that all of the pillars are in place for Daily Fantasy Sports to begin taking legal bets in Louisiana, the LGCB will be the final piece of the puzzle to make it a reality. Their deadline gives them enough time to issue licenses to operators for an NFL season launch to the public.

Not only is it a prime time for betting but because of the outbreak of COVID-19 and so many sports being dormant for months, legal sports bettors will jump at the chance to place wagers on DFS contests in Louisiana.

All revenue made by the market will be put toward the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund, allowing funding for the education system helping to save them from future budget cuts that will need to be made to make up for the losses caused by COVID-19.

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Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.