Compared to other states who have seen some slight decline in their casino revenue, Louisiana has shown some steady month-on-month growth on its casinos, starting in February.
The March numbers have seen the trend continue, with the riverboat casinos raking in %166.3 million in adjusted gross revenue. Land-based casinos followed suit, posting $22.2 million, while horse tracks with slot gaming, known colloquially as racinos, totaled in $32.2 million. These numbers represent growth over this year’s February numbers.
However, the revenue numbers do not include iGaming or online casinos. This is due to the fact that online casinos are not yet legal in the Bayou State.
Which Louisiana Riverboat Casinos Generated the Most Revenue for March?
Louisiana’s 14 riverboat casinos generated $166.3 million in revenue for March. This is 16.3% more revenue compared to LA’s February 2024 gaming revenue which reaped in $143 million.
Amid the regions in the Bayou State, Shreveport-Bossier has the most riverboat casinos at 5 that includes Horseshoe Bossier City, Bally’s Shreveport, Boomtown Bossier, Sam’s Town, and Margaritaville Resort Casino. Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge are all tied with 3 each.
The top three river casinos that raked in the most revenue for March are the following:
L’Auberge Lake Charles (Lake Charles) – $30,953,625
Golden Nugget Lake Charles (Lake Charles) – $29,597,950
Margaritaville Resort Casino (Shreveport/Bossier) – 18,176,603
That said, AGR was down slightly year-on-year, even with the positive month-on-month numbers. In March 2023, casinos brought in around $300,000 more than they did this past month.
Which Louisiana Racinos Generated the Most Revenue for March?
Louisiana has four operational racinos that are located across the state. Revenue-wise, these establishments brought in $32.2 million in AGR this past month, up around $4.5 million compared to February. The monthly racino growth totaled to 16.2%: this percentage is close to riverboats’ numbers. As for its year on year comparison, the AGR was up 8.3%.
Delta Downs is the highest earner for March, reaping in $16,436,083. Second place goes to Evangeline Downs with $6,981,815. Louisiana Downs comes in third place with $4,727,772, and in last place, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots closes out March with $4,041,163.
Will Louisiana Make Online Casinos Legal in Their State?
For states that have legal and operating brick-and-mortar casinos and online sports betting, the prospect of legalizing online casinos is a valid proposition. However, the probability of online casinos going live in Louisiana any time soon is low.
This is due to the fact that Louisiana is relatively new to online gambling. The Bayou State only recently launched online sports betting last January 2022, and since online gambling in general isn’t totally legal yet, any iGaming numbers in terms of revenue isn’t fully disclosed yet.
Adding to this, online casinos and gambling are hard to get support for any state between Texas and Florida. This is due to most of these in-between states having more conservative views and political landscape. There are also more established land-based casino operators that are generating revenue in their respective state. For example, Mississippi is a hub for casino gaming but has no online casinos. Florida has online sports betting but no online casinos.
Meanwhile, Georgia and Alabama do not have online gambling at all, especially Alabama, which still has an ongoing issue with legalizing conventional gambling.
In the US, online gambling and online casinos are legal in Michigan and the northeastern United States like West Virginia, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.
Last Updated on by jonathan r
