Louisiana Sports Wagering Revenue Allocation to be Debated

Next Monday when the Louisiana Legislature is gaveled into session we will start to get a glimpse of what legislators are thinking in regard to Louisiana's recently passed sports wagering laws.

A measure that legalizes sports wagering in the state was approved by voters in 55 of the state's 64 parishes last year. Now it's up to the legislature to determine where revenue generated from that activity will be directed.

John Stefanski, a State Representative who serves the area in and around Crowley believes the funds from sports wagering should not be dedicated to a specific issue or entity. Stefanski, whose remarks were chronicled by the Louisiana Radio Network  said,

While this won’t necessarily be a tremendous amount of money when you’re looking at the budget as a whole, we make sure that the majority of it is not dedicated, it gives us a lot more flexibility when times aren’t as good.

That makes sense to me.

The revenue generated from sports wagering will not be a guaranteed amount from year to year much less month to month. I would speculate that more money would change hands during the fall months when professional and college football games are being played than in the summer months when only baseball, car racing, and curling matches are being contested.

Stefanski also brought up what I think are good points about where Louisiana residents may place their wagers. Naturally, you'd think our state's casinos would be a place where you could plunk down a few bucks on John Schuster to win the Men's Curling World Championships but not everyone is close to a casino.

In his comments to LRN, Stefanski also mentioned the importance of utilizing the state's horse racing tracks as betting locations as well as including the Louisiana Lottery. He also suggested that the state utilize a mobile smartphone app too.

Personally, I think the smartphone app would be the way to go. That way people can place their wagers from the comfort of the home that they hopefully will not lose because of gambling addiction.

I am sure all of these angles and many more that you and I haven't even thought of will be debated over the course of the next few weeks as the Legislature convenes to chart the course of our state over the next few years.

Just remember to bet on the team with the best uniforms if you don't know anything about the sport in question. And if you're not sure which team has the best uniform, well we have solved that problem for you already.