- Louisiana sportsbooks generated $9.43 million in state tax revenue for March 2026, more than doubling their tax revenue at this point last year thanks to a new 21.5% tax rate.
- Online sportsbooks consumed nearly 95% of all bets in Louisiana for March, recording a total online handle over $372.5 million.
- Louisiana’s new tax structure is paying off and will contribute more than $2.4 million towards Louisiana’s public universities in March alone.
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana’s new sports betting tax structure has their March 2026 revenue report bearing no resemblance to where they were a year ago. The state earned over $45 million in legal sports betting revenue from $392.5 million in wagers, generating $9.43 million in taxes compared to just $4.08 million in March 2025.
Louisiana’s new sports betting tax structure went into effect on August 1, 2025 and increased the mobile sports betting tax rate from 15% to 21.25%. Plus, 25% of those receipts go towards the recently created SPORT fund, which contributes to college athletic programs at Louisiana public universities like LSU, McNeese State, and others.
Louisiana Sports Betting Revenue
| Data Point | March 2026 | March 2025 | Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Handle | $392,515,808 | $386,427,937 | +1.58% |
| Online Handle | $372,517,926 | $361,329,555 | +3.1% |
| Retail Revenue | $19,997,882 | $25,098,382 | -20.32% |
| Gross Gaming Revenue | $45,166,714 | $27,878,099 | +62.01% |
| Hold % (sportsbook win) | 11.5% | 7.21% | N/A |
| Louisiana Tax Revenue | $9,430,089 | $4,086,575 | +130.78% |
Despite the retail wagering handle being down more than 20% year-over-year (YoY), online Louisiana sports betting sites are thriving. A main contributor towards their 62% YoY revenue increase is getting the hold rate back to the norm between 9 and 12%.
Louisiana bettors crushed the books in March 2025, with online sportsbooks reporting an unusually low 7.21%-win rate. The revenue report shows that March’s 11.51% hold is Louisiana’s highest figure since they launched online sports betting in January of 2022.
New Louisiana Tax Structure Contributes Towards Universities
Louisiana public universities are the big winners from the state’s successfully revised sports betting tax structure. The SPORT Fund (Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Research, and Teams) receives 25% of tax revenue to allocate towards facility upgrades, scholarships, medical insurance, and more.
With the state earning $9.43 million in taxes for March, Louisiana public universities will receive roughly $2.4 million from the SPORT Fund.
