Sports betting will not be legal in Louisiana anytime soon as a push to allow parishes to vote on allowing it in casinos was shot down six to three in Senate Finance. Metairie Senator Danny Martiny, the bill’s sponsor, says if the US Supreme Court expands sports gaming nationwide, Louisiana could lose out on a lot of tourism to its neighbors.
Martiny says, "I'm not saying that this will cure everything, but we will lose customers and money if Mississippi and Arkansas have sports betting and we don't.
Martiny says the opposition wasn’t interested in expanding gambling in the state.
Martiny expresses, "Some of the people who voted against it, their parishes would benefit from it. Others were against an expansion of gambling, and I respect that."
Martiny says keeping sports gaming illegal in Louisiana isn’t going to keep Louisianans from placing bets on their favorite sports.
Martiny says, "People who bet on these games are going to find a way." He says that they will go to Mississippi or "get on the internet" so that Louisiana doesn't benefit at all.
The US Supreme Court could rule on allowing sports betting in all 50 states this spring.