Louisiana Passes Law To Send Unclaimed Sports Betting Funds To State

• HB 384 was signed into law, classifying sports betting funds as properties and giving Louisiana the right to claim unclaimed betting funds.
• The funds will be added to the unclaimed property fund, the same as any other unclaimed items after a time.
• This qualifies for funds belonging to deceased bettors as well.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana has just added a new law that would see unclaimed sports betting funds defaulting to the state treasury after a set time.

HB 834, Act 510 classifies sports betting funds as property that can now be added to the unclaimed property fund with the bill signed into law.

This includes funds from deceased bettors that are not claimed. Louisiana already claims funds from Amazon, eBay, iTunes, and PayPal accounts after a time.

New Laws In Louisiana

Originally, the state would have to wait for five years before ceasing the funds. Act 510 allows Louisiana to cease these funds after just three years.

The main focus is on deceased bettors, allowing the state to do something with the money quicker which benefits both Louisiana as well as the family members of the deceased.

“The money can’t help stimulate Louisiana’s economy while it’s sitting gathering dust in an account somewhere,” said John M. Schroder, State Treasure of Louisiana. “A three-year holding period brings the accounts into Unclaimed Property’s custody sooner, and we have a better chance of finding the owners (or their heirs) if we start looking for them sooner rather than later.”

This bill is just another example of how sports betting has become a part of the US culture as a whole. Prior to 2018, no state had a reason to consider situations such as abandoned betting funds.

It is likely that as time progresses, even more laws that further encapsulate the sports betting industry will be signed into law across a multitude of states.

Louisiana passing this law months after launching its sports betting market is a sharp indication that lawmakers are still paying close attention to the industry.

News tags: Act 510 | Baton Rouge | HB 834 | John Bel Edwards | John M. Schroder | Louisiana