Louisiana Illuminator: Louisiana bill to hike sports gambling taxes is scuttled

By: Piper Hutchinson - November 13, 2024 12:51 pm

Amid pushback from the gambling industry, a Louisiana lawmaker has deferred his bill to increase the sales tax on online sports betting from 15% to 51%. 

House Bill 22 by Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, would have increased state revenue $151 million, according to an analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office. The proposal would have helped offset the loss of revenue resulting from flattening the state income tax. 

The bill, which was part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax code overhaul package, had bipartisan support but was deferred at Wilder’s request at Wednesday’s hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. Wilder said he would continue to work on the proposal, but it is unlikely to come up again in the current special session that must end by Nov. 25. 

“I have some learning to do,” Wilder said. “I look forward to hearing the testimony from the industry, to gain a deeper insight of what the industry has with respect to their needs and their concerns on this issue.” 

Online sports betting companies bring in about $3 billion in bets from Louisiana and incur a profit of about $250 million to $300 million annually. The state presently brings in $54 million in tax revenue on these bets. 

Wilder’s bill faced serious opposition from casinos doing business in Louisiana. 

Samir Moad, an executive with Caesar’s New Orleans operation, warned that more than tripling the existing tax would have an impact on his company’s footprint in the state. There were some decisions the company made expecting a 15% tax rate on those bets that it wouldn’t make if the bill passed, he said. 

“You think about our Caesar’s Superdome sponsorship at a 51% tax rate, we wouldn’t have made that investment,” Moad said, referring to the naming rights to the stadium in New Orleans that Caesar’s bought in 2021. 

Wilder’s bill was supported by a set of unlikely allies: Louisiana Progress, a progressive organization, and Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative religious organization. 

It was also supported very vocally by House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, who said the revenue generated by the bill could offset some of the cost the state has incurred due to gambling addiction, such as increased spending on social services. 

“If the product causes more social ills that require taxpayer dollars to treat, should not then the industry be responsible and have a part in taking up some of those costs?” Johnson said.