Louisiana: fantasy sports betting to arrive for football season

The state of Louisiana will launch fantasy sports betting just in time for the football season.

US.- Two companies have applied to operate fantasy sports betting in the state of Louisiana, with approval expected just in time for the football season.

Major Chuck McNeal of the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division said fantasy sports betting would go live before autumn as long as all necessary documentation is received.

Louisiana is home to the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans and the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Louisiana also has several universities with active fan bases in football.

One of the two companies that has made an application to offer fantasy sports is known to be FanDuel.

FanDuel’s governmental affairs director, Stacie Stern said: “It’s definitely a big sport-fan state, so we’re excited to launch our product.”

In November 2018, 47 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes voted in favour of allowing fantasy sports contests within their parish.

Part of the application process demands that companies verify that games cannot be played in the 17 parishes where voters rejected the launch of fantasy sports. The process requires the use of geofencing in order to prevent use of the games in those7 parishes.

Authorities have said that the companies who fail to enforce the measure will be sanctioned to the tune of 8 per cent of their net income. Players must also be 21 or older.