Once the sports betting dust settled, 55 of the 64 parishes approved sports betting, both in-person and online. There doesn’t appear to be any legal differences between a parish and a county, but the distinction without a difference is just another Louisiana quirk. There are 64 parishes in the state that each have a say on sports betting. Louisiana also has parishes instead of counties. Interestingly, Louisiana has a civil law system of state government, while the other 49 states have a common law system. In Louisiana the French, Creole, and Cajun influence is evident in everything from its amazing food to its Napoleonic system of government, making it one of the most unique states in the country. Every other state that has voted on legalizing sports betting has done so via a state-wide referendum, not broken down by county. Voters in each parish (think counties) could decide whether to bring sports betting to their specific communities.
In November 2020, a referendum was passed by Louisiana voters that legalized sports betting in the state.
The state has always been a little different so it’s not a surprise that their treatment of sports betting is too.
