Proposed tax hike on online sports betting lowered in House

BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The Louisiana House advanced a bill Tuesday to raise taxes on online sports betting after adopting an amendment to lower the amount of the tax increase.

As amended, House Bill 639 by Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, would increase the tax rate on mobile sports wagering from 15% to 21.5%. This is down from the originally proposed 32.5%.

The 10% tax on in-person retail betting remains unchanged.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, is part of broader efforts to raise recurring revenue as lawmakers work to close an estimated $338.9 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2026.

The bill would dedicate 25% of online wagering tax revenue to a new college sports fund, which would send some of the money directly to public college athletic departments. Another 3% would be used to support students with disabilities in higher education.

Mobile sports betting, which has grown rapidly since launching in Louisiana in 2022, is one of the limited ways lawmakers are looking to raise revenue without touching other taxes.

Before the amendment lowering the proposed tax rate, state fiscal analysts estimated that the bill could nearly triple sports wagering tax collections, from about $59 million to $190 million annually by 2030. But with the scaled-back rate, the new revenue estimate is not clear.

The bill also proposes increased contributions from the gaming tax to early childhood education, local governments and the state’s general fund, though those figures are expected to change with the amended tax rate.