Louisiana was the fourth state to approve riverboat casino gambling and its 1991 gambling law allows a maximum of 15 boats statewide. In 1992 a provision was added for one land-based casino in New Orleans.

The state also has three land-based Indian casinos and  four  gaming machines-only casinos located at pari-mutuel facilities. Additionally, video poker is permitted at Louisiana truck stops, OTB’s and bars/taverns in 31 of the state’s 64 parishes (counties).  All riverboat casinos in Louisiana are required to remain dockside and all are open 24 hours.

Gaming regulations require that gaming machines in casinos be programmed to pay back no less than 80% and no more than 99.9%. For video gaming machines at locations other than casinos the law requires a minimum return of 80% and a maximum return of 94%.

Louisiana gaming statistics are not broken   down by individual properties. Rather, they are classified by region: Baton Rouge (BR) , Lake Charles (LC), New Orleans (NO) and Shreveport/Bossier City (SB).

The Baton Rouge casinos consist of the Belle of Baton Rouge,Casino Rouge and Evangeline Downs. The Lake Charles casinos include: Isle of Capri, L’ auberge du Lac and Delta Downs. New Orleans area casinos are: Bally’s, Boomtown, Harrah’s (landbased) and Treasure Chest. The Shreveport/Bossier city casinos include: Sam’s Town, Edlorado, Boomtown,  DiamondJacks (formerly Isle of Capri),  Horseshoe and Harrah’s Louisiana Downs.

Here’s information, as supplied by the Louisiana State Police-Riverboat Gaming Section, showing the average electronic machine payback percentages for each area’s casinos for the 12-month period from June, 2006  through May, 2007:   

These numbers reflect the percentage of money returned on each denomination of machine and encompass all electronic machines including video poker and video keno. The best returns for each category are highlighted in bold print and you can see that the Baton Rouge area casinos offered the best returns in most categories.

NOTE: If you happen to win a jackpot of $1,200 or more in Louisiana, the casino will withhold 6% of your winnings for the Louisiana Department of Revenue. If you want to try and get that money refunded, you will be required to file a state income tax return and, depending on the details of your return, you may get some of the money returned to you. The $1,200 threshold would also apply to any cash prizes won in casino drawings or tournaments.

All casinos offer: blackjack, craps, roulette, slots and video poker.  Optional games include: Spanish 21 (S21), baccarat (B), mini-baccarat (MB), poker (P), Caribbean stud poker (CSP), pai gow poker (PGP), let it ride (LIR), casino war (CW), three-card poker (TCP), four card (FCP), big 6 wheel (B6), keno (K) and bingo (BG). The minimum gambling age is 21 for casino gaming and 18 for pari-mutuel betting.