The Louisiana House has pushed forward with a bill to increase sports betting taxes, but with a lower increase than was initially proposed.
House Bill 639, proposed by Rep. Neil Riser proposed, would increase the tax rate on mobile sports betting from 15% to 32.5%.
However, this week House representatives voted to support an amendment that would set the tax rate at 21.5%, though the 10% tax on in-person sports betting would remain unchanged.
The bill is part of a broader effort to increase revenue in the state as legislators face a daunting US$338.9 million budget shortfall for the year 2026. Mobile sports betting, which launched in the state in 2022, is one of the areas that lawmakers have targeted as a potential fundraising sector.
