Louisiana’s gaming regulators have approved DraftKings’ betting license for fantasy sports, allowing the operator to move forward with its operations in the US state. The company has promised that its services will be available soon.
“As DraftKings continues to expand nationwide, we welcome Louisiana to the DraftKings family, an area rich in culture and diehard fan bases in professional and collegiate sports,” said Matt Kalish, President of DraftKings North America.
Fantasy sports betting involves forming a fantasy team with several professional players and tracking scores based on how these athletes perform in real games.
The drive to make fantasy sports legal really happened in 2018, when Louisiana authorities voted to legalize the activity in the state. From there, the Games Control Board worked to approve operators and DraftKings submitted its license application.
The regulatory agency expects DraftKings to generate $15.5 million in net income, while the state will collect about $1.3 million in taxes. Bets will only be available to players over the age of 21 and residents of regions that have voted to legalize betting on fantasy sports.
However, players traveling to authorized areas will also be allowed to place their bets. Louisiana players are still awaiting approval for live sports betting that has been legalized in several locations, but authorities have yet to finalize regulations and the application process for this form of play is not yet scheduled.
About DraftKings
DraftKings Inc. is a digital sports entertainment and games company created to fuel the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that span everyday fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. Based in Boston, the operator was launched in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman.
