The WynnBET Louisiana Sportsbook is officially live, and there was a massive sports figure that helped celebrate the mobile launch. WynnBET officially launched on Thursday, and Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal officially welcomed the operator to the state.
To celebrate the launch in Louisiana, WynnBET Sportsbook offered $200 in free bets to all new customers that signed up at the site and wagered at least $10. WynnBET is a massive name in the online sports betting industry, and this is the ninth state to have this sports betting option.
Launching prior to the Super Bowl was a big goal for WynnBET Sportsbook, and that was also the goal of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. WynnBET announced that it was moving the line for the Super Bowl to the Rams at -3.5 for the first 24 hours in which it was available.
Shaq remains a prominent figure in the state of Louisiana since playing collegiately at Louisiana State University for the Tigers. Using a popular professional athlete has been a strategy that is used by other sportsbooks that go live for the first time.
Online Betting Off to Big Start
Online betting in Louisiana is off to a massive start, and it could lead to some impressive numbers in the coming months. According to numbers from GeoComply, 3.6% of the state’s adult population placed a legal online sports betting wager during the first weekend of betting.
That percentage was actually higher than what took place in the state of New York during its first weekend of online sports betting, but Louisiana has a much smaller population. Retail sports betting has been available in Louisiana since October 31, but most bettors prefer placing wagers online.
There were only a handful of online sportsbooks eligible to launch on opening weekend, but more operators should be rolling out in the coming weeks.
Interesting Rules in Place
Even though online sports betting is legal in Louisiana, bettors cannot place bets from anywhere in the state. That is because each parish had the choice to approve online sports betting or not, and not all of them did so.
Online sportsbooks will be available in 55 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana, and that does include all of the biggest cities in the state. GeoComply will help track a bettor’s physical location to ensure that no betting is being done from a parish that did not vote yes to this legal online betting option.
Mattress Mack Likes the Bengals
Legal sports betting is not available in the state of Texas, and residents of that state are expected to
boost the online numbers in Louisiana. One man, Jim McIngvale, has already taken advantage of legal online sports betting in the Bayou by driving across the border and placing a massive wager.
McIngvale is known as “Mattress Mack,” and he is also famous for making massive wagers on big sporting events. Mattress Mack placed a $4.5 million bet on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl at Caesars Sportsbook, and that is considered to be the biggest bet ever placed.
