IBERIA PARISH — Sports betting became legal in Louisiana just three years ago, with retail sportsbooks opening in Oct. 2021 and mobile betting launching in Jan. 2022.
Since then, the numbers have skyrocketed. In 2022, residents wagered nearly $1.8 billion. By 2024, that number climbed to more than $3 billion — a 37 percent increase.
While the state is making money from the industry, not all of it goes back into the community. A quarter of the tax revenue from sports betting is directed to early childhood education, but only three percent is earmarked for problem gambling programs.
One bettor admitted just how consuming sports betting can be.
“I know people that are like real addicted. They have this whole spreadsheet, these notes they go over and stuff like that. I know a few people that you could say are addicted,” he said. “You’re expecting this team, you’ve done all this research, you done put in these hours to expect the team or said player to make you money, and when they don’t, it’s like ‘Man, now I gotta try and account for the loss I just took with another bet.’”
Licensed addiction counselor Sherri Hebert says the effects of gambling addiction can be devastating.
“It definitely can affect them psychologically. They can become depressed because they’re losing money, then they get into debt, and they can become depressed, then they start drinking because they are depressed, and it’s just this cycle of mental health problems,” Hebert said.
Experts warn that sports betting is especially risky for young adults. The part of the brain that manages risk versus reward isn’t fully developed until around age 25, making college-aged students particularly vulnerable to addiction.
Though marketed as just another form of entertainment, addiction specialists caution that the consequences of sports betting can go far beyond game day.
