• Sports betting tax in Louisiana will go up to 21.5% pending the Governor’s signature
• An original proposal wanted to see the tax increased to 32.5%
• Tax increases in the United States on sports betting are becoming more common

Louisiana has rallied behind Rep. Neil Riser and his draft law – House Bill 639 – which is soon to become a law. Following two votes that saw both the House and Senate vote with overwhelming majority in favor of the law, House Bill 639 is now heading to the desk of Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk who is all but guaranteed to sign it.

The governor’s signature is all it takes for Louisiana to pass its new tax rate

What this would do is increase the levy on online sports betting from the current 15% to 21.5%. This is not an isolated case, as both Maryland and New Jersey, among others, have tinkered with their tax figures in recent months.

Lawmakers have taken a more lenient view on the original proposal, which sought to see the tax increased to 32.5%, but ultimately relented as the idea appeared too contentious to bring everyone on board, although the direction in which tax could go is clear – up.

Lawmakers hope that the measure will help them bring in an extra $77m, with $20m of that money to go to the Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources, and Teams Fund. The money will mostly go to state and sports causes, but one apparent absentee is the type of group that is directly affected by gambling addiction and problem gambling in general.

Peter Robins-Brown, the executive director of Louisiana Progress, has argued that more money should also be allocated to help combat the negative impact that mass legalization of gambling in the state has had, and how it has impacted working-class and marginalized communities, making them more susceptible to gambling-related harm.

Not enough money for problem gambling amid push for higher taxes

According to him, mobile gambling has exacerbated many social and cultural problems, led to domestic violence and bankruptcies, as well as addiction.

"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," Robins-Brown said in a statement shared by media outlets. Overall, the United States has experienced an upward trajectory in recent sports betting tax increases.

Even outside the United States, lawmakers have been prone to shake down the industry for more money. In Brazil, just recently, an unpopular tax on financial transactions had to be scrapped, and instead, a new levy was imposed on the sports betting industry.

Image credit: Unsplash.com