Louisiana lawmakers approve tax hike on online sports betting
Louisiana lawmakers have passed a bill raising the state’s online sports betting tax from 15% to 21.5%, with proceeds intended to fund college athletic programs across the state.
House Bill 639, sponsored by Rep. Neil Riser, cleared the Senate on a 35-3 vote on Sunday, after passing the House on a 74-15 vote previously. The new tax increase is expected to generate around US$20 million for various athletic programs in Louisiana’s universities.
Rep. Riser’s original bill proposed increasing the tax to 32.5%; however, House representatives opted to vote for a lower increase, capping the new tax rate at 21.5%.
Lawmakers expect the tax hike to generate an additional US$77 million, allocating US$20 million to the new Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources, and Teams Fund, which was established by the bill.
In addition to current public funding, each qualified NCAA Division I school in the state will receive an additional funding of around US$1.7 million.
While the bill did face bipartisan support, it was not welcomed by all. Peter Robins-Brown, an executive director of Louisiana Progress, an advocacy group for working-class and marginalized communities, believes that more tax revenue should be given to support gambling addiction programs rather than college sports.
“Legalized mobile gambling has created or exacerbated many social and cultural problems, including addiction, bankruptcies, and even increases in domestic violence. New tax revenue should be used first and foremost to address some of those problems before we talk about spending more money on college sports,” he told the Louisiana Illuminator.
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