Ronnie Johns, Chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board
You’ll be able to place your sports wagers in Lake Charles at either the Golden Nugget or L’Auberge casinos beginning today. The two casinos join five others that have already had their licenses approved by the Gaming Control Board Chair Ronnie Johns expects this to be a big boon for Lake Charles casinos, especially from their neighbors to the west.
“The entire Lake Charles market thrives on the Texas market, and the people of Texas are just clamoring for sports betting,” said Johns.
Other casinos that have already been licensed for sports wagering are Paragon in Marksville, Harrah’s in New Orleans, L’Auberge in Baton Rouge, Horseshoe in Bossier City, and Boomtown in Harvey.
Voters approved legalized sports wagering in 55 of the state’s 64 parishes. Johns said state police are working diligently with inspections so more licenses can be issued. But when it comes to placing a bet on your phone, Johns said it’s a bit more complicated and time-consuming approving that platform, but they are working on it.
“It is probably the biggest part of sports betting is going to be the mobile component, and I would project early, very early January that’s our goal right now,” said Johns.
Johns said while he knows many are anxiously waiting for sports wagering to be fully operational in all of the approved outlets, he’s actually impressed with the timeline they’ve met so far.
“We were literally looking at January of 2022 to have any sports betting actually up and running at one point, that was our goal, so we’re ahead of the ball game,” said Johns.
Geofencing technology will be incorporated with sports betting via mobile apps and only allowed in approved parishes.
Sportsbook at L’Auberge Lake Charles will open at 9 am Wednesday and 2 pm at the Gold Nugget.
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