Harrah’s has a designated area in the casino where sports betting takes place. It is called the “sports book”.
NEW ORLEANS – For the first time in the history of the state of Louisiana, you can now legally bet on sports in public land casinos. A total of four casinos in Louisiana accepted sports betting – Harrah’s in New Orleans, Boomtown Casino in Harvey, L’Auberge Baton Rouge, and Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City.
Sports betting was approved by voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes as early as November 20-20, but did not come into effect until June 20-21. Since then, the state police have been examining applications from casinos.
“It seems like we’ve waited forever,” said Jason Kelly, the first to place a sports bet in Harrah’s New Orleans on Sunday. “We are so happy that we are finally here.”
Harrah’s has a designated area in the casino where sports betting takes place. It is called the “sports book”. You can bet on any number of games: soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, whatever.
“Right now we have personal betting windows. Hopefully by next weekend we’ll have a number of kiosks, over a dozen of them,” said Samir Moward, general manager at Harrah’s Casino.
Mowad says the launch of the sports betting offering is good news not only for sports fans but also for the local economy.
“In addition to the direct income from sports betting, there is definitely a trickle-down effect,” said Mowad.
The first bet for the Second Harvest Food Bank charity was placed by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert. He says sports betting like fantasy football could spark more interest in the world of sports.
“If you have a small wage, a small coin in the game … you may not have your favorite team, but you will be interested,” said Hebert. “I know the NFL loves it, it’s going to be good for Louisiana revenue and whatever comes in.”
Currently, sports betting through apps is not allowed on your phone, but that is likely to change in the near future.
While Harrah’s was the first to allow sports betting in a public land casino, Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville has been accepting sports betting since October 6, but that’s because the property is owned by the Tunica Biloxi tribe of Louisiana, and not government regulated .
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