FanDuel Louisiana: Legit, 8 Parishes Said No

FanDuel Louisiana: Licensed, But Not Everywhere

FanDuel Louisiana has been a licensed, live sportsbook since January 2022, which puts it well ahead of most of the states on this site — but "live statewide" is the wrong assumption, because eight parishes voted themselves out of mobile betting before FanDuel ever launched. This page covers what the Louisiana Gaming Control Board actually licenses, where the parish map still says no, and why there is no FanDuel Casino here at all.

Legal status in Louisiana

Louisiana voters decided this parish by parish, not as one statewide yes-or-no. On November 3, 2020, 64 parishes each held a local referendum on whether to allow sports wagering; the final, settled count was 55 approving it and eight rejecting it outright (Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll, and Winn), with one parish, Beauregard, counted among the holdouts in early tallies. The Legislature then passed enabling law in its 2021 regular session, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed it, and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) built the licensing framework that let FanDuel and the rest of the mobile market go live on January 28, 2022. That license only applies to sports wagering — Louisiana has no statute authorizing online casino play, so "FanDuel Casino" is not a product here regardless of how it operates in New Jersey or Michigan. In its most recent legislative change, House Bill 639 (Rep. Neil Riser) raised the online sports betting tax rate from 15% to 21.5%, matching the retail rate; Gov. Jeff Landry signed it in June 2025 and it took effect August 1, 2025.

State gambling authority: Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB)

FanDuel Louisiana isn’t a dark-state page like most of the ones on this site — the sportsbook has been licensed and live since January 28, 2022. What makes it worth reading carefully anyway is how Louisiana got there: not one statewide vote, but 64 separate parish referendums, eight of which said no before FanDuel ever had a chance to operate in them.

A Parish Map, Not a State Line

On November 3, 2020, every Louisiana parish held its own local referendum on whether to allow sports wagering at all — retail and mobile both. The settled count: 55 parishes voted yes, eight voted no outright (Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll, and Winn), with a couple of others, like Beauregard, still being tallied in the first wire reports. The Legislature passed the enabling framework in its 2021 regular session, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed it, and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board built the actual licensing rules that let FanDuel and the rest of the market launch on January 28, 2022. A FanDuel account created in Baton Rouge or New Orleans works. One created from inside Winn Parish won’t place a bet, no matter how the app looks.

No mobile or retail betting: Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll, and Winn parishes. Everywhere else that approved the 2020 referendum, FanDuel’s LGCB license covers sports wagering — not casino play.

Is FanDuel Legit in Louisiana?

Yes, and it’s a cleaner answer than in most states on this site: FanDuel is one of roughly ten mobile operators the LGCB has actually licensed, not a brand hoping a gray area holds. It pays the state’s sports-wagering tax like every other licensee, submits to LGCB audits, and geofences every bet to confirm the parish, not just the state. “Legit” was never really the open question here — parish eligibility is.

No Casino, Despite the Sportsbook

It’s an easy mistake: a reader sees FanDuel is licensed for sports betting and assumes the casino app works too. It doesn’t. Louisiana has never passed an online casino statute, so there is no legal path for FanDuel Casino here the way there is in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia. Casino gaming in Louisiana stays where it’s always been — riverboats, the land-based casino in Baton Rouge, and tribal properties — and all of it in person.

The Tax Jump Nobody Advertised

House Bill 639, sponsored by Rep. Neil Riser, raised the online sports-wagering tax from 15% to 21.5%, bringing mobile in line with the retail rate. Gov. Jeff Landry signed it in June 2025 and it took effect August 1, 2025. The bill started out proposing a 31% rate before negotiations with the licensed operators brought it down. A chunk of the new revenue was earmarked for a fund supporting Division I athletics at Louisiana’s public universities — a detail that didn’t change anything for the person placing the bet, but did change what FanDuel keeps per dollar wagered in the state.

Who It Fits

Adults 21+ in one of the 55 approved parishes who want a licensed sportsbook with real LGCB oversight behind it. Readers in Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll, or Winn parish don’t have that option, and readers hoping for an online casino don’t have one anywhere in the state. Treat it as entertainment, not income. If it stops being that, Louisiana’s Office of Problem Gambling Services and 1-800-GAMBLER are there.

FanDuel Louisiana — Frequently Asked Questions

Is FanDuel legal in Louisiana?

Yes, for sports wagering, in the parishes that approved it. FanDuel has been one of the LGCB-licensed mobile operators since the market launched January 28, 2022, following the Legislature’s 2021 enabling law. It is not legal in the eight parishes that voted against mobile and retail sports betting in the November 2020 referendum.

Is FanDuel legit in Louisiana?

Yes. It operates under an actual LGCB license, not an offshore workaround, and pays the same state sports-wagering tax as every other licensed operator — now 21.5% after the 2025 rate increase. Legitimacy here isn’t in question; which parish you’re in is.

Is FanDuel safe to use in Louisiana?

In an approved parish, yes, to the extent a state-regulated book can be: the LGCB licenses and audits the operator, geofencing enforces the parish boundary (not just the state line), and Louisiana’s Office of Problem Gambling Services funds support for anyone who needs it. None of that makes a FanDuel account usable from one of the eight opted-out parishes — the app simply won’t let a wager through.

Does FanDuel have a casino app in Louisiana?

No. Louisiana has never passed a law authorizing online casino play, so FanDuel Casino doesn’t exist here the way it does in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia. Louisiana’s casino gaming stays on riverboats, the Baton Rouge land-based casino, and tribal properties — in person, not on a phone.

Which Louisiana parishes don’t allow FanDuel?

Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, Sabine, Union, West Carroll, and Winn rejected sports betting in the November 2020 parish-by-parish vote and have no licensed sportsbook, mobile or retail. A handful of other rural parishes were still being finalized in early counts, so a resident near a parish line should check the LGCB’s current list rather than assume.

How much tax does FanDuel pay on Louisiana bets?

21.5% of adjusted gross revenue on mobile wagers, up from 15%, under House Bill 639 (effective August 1, 2025). That brought the online rate up to match what retail sportsbooks already paid, after the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Neil Riser, backed off an initial proposal to go as high as 31%.