Louisiana Gaming License Requirements, Fees, and Compliance

Getting a gaming license in Louisiana means clearing three hurdles: choosing the right license category under Title 27, proving suitability by clear and convincing evidence, and paying the fees that come with your category. Every path runs through the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, with background investigations handled by the Gaming Enforcement Division of the Louisiana State Police. The Louisiana gaming license requirements are set out in the Louisiana Gaming Control Law at Title 27 of the Revised Statutes,¹ and they differ sharply depending on whether you are opening a riverboat casino, placing video poker machines in a bar, running a sportsbook, or holding a bingo night for a nonprofit.

Which License You Need

Louisiana treats each form of gambling as its own regulated activity, with a separate chapter of Title 27 governing each one. Identify your category first, because everything that follows — fees, taxes, timelines, and even who reviews your application — depends on it.

Riverboat casino licenses, authorized under the Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Control Act. The state caps these at fifteen, with no more than six on any single designated waterway.²
The single land-based casino license, held under a separate contract with the state and located in New Orleans.
Racetrack slot machine licenses for pari-mutuel racing facilities.
Video draw poker device licenses for bars, restaurants, truck stops, hotels, and off-track betting facilities.
Sports wagering licenses covering both retail and online operations.
Charitable gaming licenses for nonprofits conducting bingo, raffles, or keno.

The riverboat cap is worth flagging early: if the fifteen licenses are already issued, a new operator is not entering that market absent a surrender or revocation.

Proving Suitability

No license, contract, or permit issues without a suitability finding. The applicant carries the burden and must prove suitability by clear and convincing evidence — a heavier standard than the preponderance test used in ordinary civil matters.³

For a corporate applicant, that means showing competence and experience to run gaming operations through some combination of training, education, and business background, and demonstrating that the financing behind the operation is adequate and comes from an acceptable source.⁴ Riverboat applicants have an additional layer: they must show they can safely operate a vessel of comparable size and complexity, backed by Coast Guard certifications for navigation and safety crew.⁵

Automatic Disqualifiers

Some histories end the inquiry before it starts. An applicant convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, or of theft, fraud, or a gambling-related crime, is ineligible if the conviction is less than ten years old, or if fewer than ten years have passed since completing any sentence, probation, or parole. Delinquent sales taxes owed to the state or to the local government where the establishment would operate are also a bar. The Division looks at arrests and dismissed charges during its review as well, not only convictions.

Applying, Waiting, and Appealing

Applications go to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. Background investigations for corporate casino and gaming supplier applicants are run by the Corporate Investigations Unit of the Louisiana State Police, which examines criminal history, financial records, business associations, and any prior gaming involvement.⁶

Plan on months, not weeks. The Board can ask for additional documentation at any point, and it may hold public hearings so local residents can weigh in. Job creation, tourism potential, and infrastructure investment get weighed against crime and problem gambling before a decision issues.

Most permits issued under the general provisions of Title 27 run for five years.⁷ Gaming employee permits run two years. The Board staggers renewal dates so that roughly the same number of permits come up for renewal each year, which can mean an initial term is trimmed to fit the schedule. Renewal is not automatic; the Board re-evaluates suitability, and a licensee with compliance problems should expect scrutiny.

If the Gaming Enforcement Division denies an application, you have seven days from receiving the certified-mail denial notice to file a notice of appeal with the Board. The Division then transmits the record, at the applicant’s cost. The Board can reverse or modify the decision only if it finds the action was clearly contrary to the facts in the record or contrary to law.⁸ The seven-day window is unforgiving. Miss it and the appeal is effectively over.

What It Costs

Fees swing wildly by category. The video poker chapter is granular, sports wagering is expensive, and charitable gaming is inexpensive. Riverboat and land-based fees are not published as a single flat number.

Video Draw Poker

Video poker licensing has separate annual fees for every participant in the supply chain:⁹

Distributor: $10,000
Service entity: $2,000
Device owner: $2,000
Device operation at a restaurant, bar, hotel, or similar establishment: $250
Device operation at a licensed pari-mutuel facility: $1,250
Device operation at an off-track wagering facility: $1,000
Device operation at a truck stop: $1,000
Licensed establishment: $100

A bar owner running three machines pays the $100 establishment fee plus the $250 device operation fee. A distributor placing machines across many venues pays $10,000 per year on top of every downstream fee.

Sports Wagering

Sports betting is the most expensive front door. The application fee alone is $250,000 and is nonrefundable. The license fee is another $500,000, due at application and covering a five-year term, and the same $500,000 comes due again every five years on the anniversary of issuance.¹⁰ A new applicant is writing $750,000 in checks before taking a single wager.

Louisiana taxes onsite sports wagering net proceeds at 10% and online sports wagering at 21.5%.¹¹ Parish opt-in matters too: not every parish has authorized sports wagering, and geolocation technology must prevent bets from unauthorized parishes in real time.

Charitable Gaming

Nonprofits pay far less. Organization license fees are $75, limited raffle licenses are $25, and special bingo licenses are $100, with identical renewal fees.¹² To qualify, an organization must have been actively domiciled in Louisiana for at least two consecutive years before applying.¹³

Riverboat and Land-Based Casinos

Title 27 does not publish a flat license fee for riverboat or land-based casino operators the way it does for video poker or sports wagering. These operations negotiate terms that include admission fees tied to net gaming proceeds; some parishes collect a percentage of weekly net proceeds as an admission fee.¹⁴ Total entry costs — application processing, investigation costs, and local government negotiations — run well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

Gaming Employee Permits

Every gaming employee must hold a valid permit before starting work.¹⁵ The categories split by role:

Key gaming employee permits, issued by the Board for supervisory or sensitive positions. Application fee $500, renewal $200.
Non-key gaming employee permits, issued by the Division for other gaming employees. Application and renewal are both $200.¹⁶

Both types last two years. Employees clear the same suitability analysis as operators, including the ten-year criminal history disqualifiers. Employing someone who lacks a valid permit creates violations for both the individual and the licensee.

Staying Compliant

Once the license issues, the work does not stop. The Board conducts regular audits and inspections, and licensees must keep accurate financial records available for review on demand.

Anti-Money Laundering

Louisiana defines AML obligations by reference to the federal Bank Secrecy Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, so operators must follow federal requirements for detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.¹⁷ That translates into currency transaction reports, suspicious activity reporting programs, and staff training on red flags.

Self-Exclusion

Every licensee, casino operator, and sports wagering operator must maintain a self-exclusion program. The Board keeps a confidential list of people who have voluntarily excluded themselves, and that list is not open to public inspection.¹⁸

Operator policies, submitted to the Board for approval, must at minimum prevent excluded individuals from gambling at the facility or on any sports wagering platform, remove them from marketing lists within 90 days, deny them casino credit and check-cashing privileges, and physically remove them from the premises when necessary, including by calling law enforcement.¹⁸ The Board can sanction any operator that willfully fails to exclude a listed person. Marketing lists and complimentary services are the two most common breakdown points.

State Withholding on Winnings

Operators remit state income tax withheld on gaming winnings electronically each month, with payment due by the last day of the following month. A quarterly reconciliation return is due by the last day of the month after the quarter ends.¹⁹ Missed deadlines draw penalties and interest, and repeated failures put a license at risk when renewal comes around.

Penalties and Hearings

Civil penalty ceilings vary by chapter. For video poker operations, fines cannot exceed $50,000 per violation.²⁰ Missing financial reports, neglecting AML protocols, allowing underage gambling, and breaching self-exclusion obligations are among the most common triggers. Where fines are not enough, the Board can suspend or revoke a license outright. Serious matters — fraud, money laundering, organized criminal activity — can move to criminal prosecution through referral by the Gaming Enforcement Division.

Before a penalty is imposed, the licensee has a right to be heard. Disputed matters go to a hearing officer in a public hearing under the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act. The hearing officer issues a written decision, with findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 30 days. Either side can appeal to the full Board within 30 days, and the Board has 60 days to decide.²¹

For simple fine disputes, a short-form hearing is available. It must be held within 15 days of notice, and the licensee can waive it. If the licensee contests, the hearing officer will uphold the fine unless the licensee makes a clear and convincing showing that the penalty should not be imposed or that the facts are sufficiently disputed to warrant a full hearing.²¹ That is a steep burden, and most short-form hearings end with the original penalty in place.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27 – Louisiana Gaming Control Law
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-65 – Riverboat Gaming Licenses
3
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27 RS 27-28 Suitability Standards
4
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 42 Section III-2113 – Licensing Criteria
5
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27 RS 27-70 – Gaming Operator License and Permits
6
Louisiana State Police. Gaming Enforcement Division
7
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-29 – Permit Required, Terms, Disposition of Fees
8
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-88 – Appeal From Actions of Division
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-435 – Video Draw Poker Device Fees
10
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-621 – Sports Wagering License Fee
11
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana State Legislature Fiscal Note on HB 765 – Dedication of Certain Gaming Revenues
12
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Fees – Office of Charitable Gaming
13
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 42 Section I-1705 – Eligibility for Charitable Gaming Licenses
14
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-93 – Riverboat Admission Fees
15
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27 RS 27-29.4 – Key and Non-Key Gaming Employee Permit
16
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-29.4 – Key and Non-Key Gaming Employee Permit Fees
17
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27 – Anti-Money Laundering Definitions
18
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-27.1 – Self-Exclusion
19
Louisiana.gov. Louisiana Administrative Code 61.III.1525 – Income Tax Withholding on Gaming Winnings
20
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-311 – Civil Penalties
21
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 27-25 – Hearing Officer Duties