BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana Illuminator) – Facing pushback from the gaming industry, a Louisiana lawmaker has postponed his bill to increase the sales tax on online sports betting from 15% to 51%.

Parliamentary Bill 22 by Rep. Roger Wilder (R-Denham Springs) would have increased state revenue by $151 million, according to a analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office. The proposal would have helped offset lost revenue from flattening the state income tax.

The bill, part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax code overhaul package, enjoyed bipartisan support but was postponed at Wilder’s request during Wednesday’s Ways and Means Committee hearing of the House. Wilder said he would continue to work on the proposal, but it is unlikely to come up again during the current special session that is scheduled to end by Nov. 25.

“I have work to do,” Wilder said. “I look forward to hearing testimony from the industry, to get a more in-depth view of what the industry has in terms of its needs and concerns on this issue.” »

Online sports betting companies bring in about $3 billion in bets from Louisiana and make about $250 million to $300 million a year. The state currently brings in $54 million in tax revenue from these bets.

Wilder’s bill faced serious opposition from casinos operating in Louisiana.

Samir Moad, a Caesars executive in New Orleans, warned that more than tripling the existing tax would impact his company’s footprint in the state. The company made some decisions expecting a 15% tax rate on those bets that it wouldn’t make if the bill passed, he said.

“You think about our sponsorship of the Caesars Superdome at a 51 percent tax rate, we wouldn’t have made that investment,” Moad said, referring to the naming rights to the New Orleans stadium that Caesars purchased in 2021.

Wilder’s bill was supported by a set of unlikely allies: Louisiana Progress, a progressive organization, and Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative religious organization.

It also received strong support from House Speaker Acting Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Pineville), who said the revenue generated by the bill could offset some of the costs the state has incurred in reason for gambling addiction, such as increased social spending. services.

“If the product causes more social ills that require taxpayer dollars to treat, then shouldn’t the industry be responsible and help cover some of those costs? » Johnson said.

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