PrizePicks is legal in Louisiana, but the version available to Louisiana residents is stripped down. The company’s two flagship paid contests, Player Picks and Team Picks, aren’t offered in the state. What you can play are the free games, PrizePicks Streak, and Culture Picks.1PrizePicks. PrizePicks States Availability: Where Can I Play PrizePicks
What You Can and Can’t Play in Louisiana
PrizePicks is a daily fantasy sports app where you predict whether individual athletes will finish above or below a projected stat line, picking two to six projections per entry. In most states, the paid versions are Power Play (every pick must hit, with multipliers up to 37.5x on a six-pick entry) and Flex Play (you can miss one or two picks and still win a reduced payout).2PrizePicks. How to Play PrizePicks Real Money Game
Louisiana residents don’t get access to those products. The state is listed only for:1PrizePicks. PrizePicks States Availability: Where Can I Play PrizePicks
- Free2Play, with no real money at stake, for players 21 and older
- PrizePicks Streak, for players 21 and older
- Culture Picks, which are entertainment-based predictions unrelated to traditional sports, for players 18 and older
Player Picks and Team Picks, the main paid contests, are not available. Louisiana law allows licensed daily fantasy sports operators to run paid contests, and other platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel do so, but PrizePicks has not launched its core paid games in the state. If you want to play paid DFS from Louisiana, you’ll need to use one of those other licensed operators.
Why DFS Is Legal in Louisiana at All
Louisiana legalized daily fantasy sports through a parish-by-parish referendum in November 2018. Forty-seven of the state’s 64 parishes approved it. The legislature then passed House Bill 64 in the 2020 special session, which placed an 8% tax on fantasy sports operators’ net Louisiana revenue and told the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to write the rules.3Louisiana State Legislature. HB 64 Licensed operators began taking paid entries in 2021.
Any operator offering fantasy contests in Louisiana must hold a license from the Gaming Control Board.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 27:306 – Licensing of Fantasy Sports Contest Operators The decision to run or not run a specific contest type in the state is the operator’s. In PrizePicks’ case, that means Louisianans get the free and non-traditional products but not the paid pick’em games.
Parish Restrictions on Paid DFS
Seventeen parishes voted no in 2018, and residents in those parishes cannot enter paid DFS contests even though the rest of the state permits them. Several of the no-vote parishes cluster in central Louisiana, including Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Vernon, and Winn.
You can create an account from anywhere in the state, but geolocation software checks your physical location each time you try to enter a paid contest and blocks entries from an opted-out parish. Crossing into an approved parish opens access. This parish restriction is mainly relevant to other DFS operators right now, since PrizePicks isn’t offering paid pick’em in Louisiana regardless of parish.
Age Requirement
Louisiana’s minimum age for daily fantasy sports is 21, higher than the 18-year threshold common in other states. PrizePicks applies that 21-and-older rule to Free2Play and Streak for Louisiana users. Culture Picks is available at 18 and older.1PrizePicks. PrizePicks States Availability: Where Can I Play PrizePicks
Taxes If You Win
Any DFS winnings are taxable income federally, no matter the amount. Starting in 2026, gaming platforms must report net winnings of $2,000 or more to the IRS, with that threshold adjusting annually for inflation.5IRS. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (01/2026) Winnings below the reporting threshold are still legally reportable on your return.
A 2026 change under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act capped the gambling loss deduction at 90% of losses. If you win $10,000 and lose $10,000 in the same year, you can deduct $9,000, leaving $1,000 of taxable income even though you broke even.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 165 – Losses You also have to itemize to claim gambling losses.
Louisiana taxes fantasy sports winnings as well. Operators paying out contest winnings must withhold state income tax at Louisiana’s highest individual rate whenever federal withholding is triggered on the same payout, and they report those withholdings to the Louisiana Department of Revenue quarterly and file annual winner reports matching federal Form W-2G.7Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 61 I-1525 – Income Tax Withholding on Gaming Winnings Smaller payouts that don’t trigger withholding still have to be reported on your state return.
Platforms don’t report your losses, so keep your own log of entry fees if you ever plan to deduct them.