Those living in East Texas can now travel the short distance to the Shreveport area, where Louisiana features legal sportsbooks.
Although legal sports betting in Texas won’t be available for some time, Texas’ neighbor began accepting sports betting at the end of October. Louisiana offers legal retail sports betting at a couple of locations already, including Harrah’s New Orleans and Horseshoe Casino Bossier City.
The Pelican State is now the 29th within the US to launch legal sportsbooks.
While it’s fine for bettors to cross the border to place wagers, you must be at least 21 years old to do so.
Louisiana and Oklahoma offer sports betting options
While those living in East Texas finally have access to legal sportsbook options, Texans further north had a head start because of the sports betting advancements in Oklahoma.
The Choctaw Casino opened its doors in early August and sees lots of Texas bettors every day.
Now, many others have access to a reachable sportsbook in the Horseshoe in Bossier City.
The Horseshoe started taking bets on the last day of October, coincidentally, an NFL Sunday. One big spender put down $50,000 on the Detroit Lions at the new sportsbook.
Casino owners welcome Texans
Quinton Harris, the Caesars Sportsbook manager at Horseshoe Casino, told KETK TV News in Tyler, TX, what it’s like to debut legal sports wagering and the Texas sport betting traffic:
“Just seeing the joy that it brings to these that have been waiting for it for years.”
He also spoke about how local casino owners are optimistic. They anticipate seeing plenty of Texas bettors in their establishments. Harris continued:
“It’s definitely going to help business a lot and I think it’s going to definitely bring a better experience to customers who watch the games.”
Louisiana online sportsbooks coming soon
Retail betting is a great option. However, online platforms are still not in the works just yet. Once online sportsbooks launch in Louisiana, Texans will only need to cross into the state briefly to place bets.
There is an early sign-up offer for multiple books like Betfred, DraftKings, Caesars, and FanDuel. While Texas residents can take advantage of these deals, they have to be in the proper state.
