Louisiana to Miss Out on Sports Betting After Fantasy Sports Bill Amendments Get Rejected

Louisiana’s House of Representatives has rejected the fantasy sports bill amendments that would make it possible for its citizens to vote on the legalization of sports wagering. This effectively means that this state may miss out on regulating sports betting market this year.

In May, the House Bill 459 was amended by the of the Senate so that it includes the sports betting language, although its primary focus was on making a daily fantasy sports contests legal.

A Surprisingly Unanimous Vote Against

During a session on June 4th, the bill was rejected surprisingly quickly and in an unexpected fashion…

…as it was voted down with a unanimous 97-0 vote against! This was ahead of the end of the current legislative session on Thursday, June 6th.

The amendment was supposed to pave the way for citizens of Senate approved it early last month with a 24-15 vote…

…and had it been approved in the House and managed to obtain the right amount of votes in the state, then it would become the first step towards implementing the regulatory framework for sports betting that Senator, Daniel Martiny, suggested in his Senate Bill 153.

A Promising Makeover To No Avail

In March last year, five different pieces of gambling legislation ed the committee’s vote …

…that were to radically shift the very foundation of how gambling in Louisiana operates, to the extent of how operators that wish to run casinos can go about doing that.

Depending on the bill, they were planning to alter how big of an area a casino can take up, propose 15 riverboat casinos to be moved ashore, change how slot winnings are taxed or a renew the New Orleans Harrah license.

The Change of Margaritaville Ownership

At the beginning of this year, casino operator, Penn National Gaming, completed the takeover of Margaritaville Resort Casino in Louisiana’s, Bossier City.

The acquisition was completed after a $115 million purchase was funded with incremental borrowings under its revolving credit facility.

Penn National’s CEO, Timothy Wilmott, commented:

“Margaritaville, Bossier City’s newest casino resort, is an attractive addition to our regional gaming platform. This acquisition is in line with our efforts to enhance shareholder value as it is immediately accretive to our free cash flow, further diversifies our revenue and operating base and offers a well-defined path to the realization of synergies that are expected to lower the purchase multiple. Margaritaville is one of the leading casino resorts in Bossier City, and we expect that our proven integration and operating strategies will help grow operating margins as well as free cash flow contributions from the property. We are excited to welcome Margaritaville employees to Penn National.”

Margaritaville Resort covers 26,500 square feet including 395 hotel rooms, 6 restaurants, beverages shops, a 15,000 square-foot theater and 9,500 square feet of meeting space.

Source:

“Louisiana sports betting looks dead after latest rejection”, igamingbusiness.com, June 5, 2019.