Gaming board authorizes Bally’s Baton Rouge to open pending final inspections, grants five‑year sports wagering license

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board on Nov. 13 authorized the chairman to accept final inspection and occupancy documents and approved Catfish Queen LLC’s petition to commence landside gaming operations at the Belle of Baton Rouge property, which intends to operate under the trade name Bally’s Baton Rouge.

Assistant Attorney General Delancey Houston told the board the licensee seeks to cease operations at its temporary landside facility on Nov. 14, 2025, and begin operations at the permanent landside facility on Dec. 6, 2025. Houston said the board may only determine “substantial completion” after the division receives an inspection report from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, a certificate of substantial completion from the project’s architect, a certificate of occupancy from the city of Baton Rouge and other required permits. She recommended that the chairman be authorized to accept those documents on the board’s behalf and approve commencement when the division confirms readiness.

Representatives for the licensee described construction and preopening work. Stacy Stagg, senior vice president and regional manager for Bally’s Incorporated, said the completed project reflects a total investment of $164,000,000 in downtown Baton Rouge and that a mock opening is scheduled for Dec. 2, with a VIP event and public opening planned for Dec. 6. Stagg said the finished casino and connected hotel total about 80,315 square feet and that the gaming floor will include 776 machines when fully populated. Richard Cannon, general manager of the Belle of Baton Rouge, added that more than 800 of nearly 1,100 surveillance cameras have been installed and 322 slot products had been certified as of the prior day.

Houston and licensee representatives told the board one entrance (the north entrance and porte‑cochere) will not be complete at opening and is anticipated to be finished by June 2026; patrons will have access through two other entry points in the meantime.

The board also adopted a resolution approving updates to the casino’s compulsive‑gambling program after review by the attorney general’s office, the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division and the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling. Assistant Attorney General Tooele McIntyre said the licensee incorporated recommended revisions and that the program complies with applicable laws and board rules stemming from the Uniform Compulsive Gaming Act.

Separately, the board considered Catfish Queen LLC’s application for a sports wagering license. Amy Pirtle Danigosian of the attorney general’s office and Lisa Houtard of the Louisiana State Police audit section reported that the applicant contracted with DK Crown Holdings Inc. (doing business as DraftKings) to provide an on‑premises sportsbook. Rodney Perkins, a criminal investigator with the State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, said a background investigation of the company and related individuals “found no information that would preclude the board from approving the sports wagering license.” The board approved a five‑year sports wagering license to begin on Dec. 6, 2025, or upon the date the landside facility receives approval to commence gaming, whichever occurs later.

The board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution authorizing the chairman to accept required documents and to approve the sports wagering license. The resolutions make clear that any recommencement or continuation of operations remains subject to the division’s preoperative inspection and the board’s determination that required staffing, training, security and technical controls are acceptable.

The board’s action leaves the opening contingent on the remaining local and state permits and the results of the division’s preoperative inspection; if the division identifies deficiencies during the mock opening or after commencement the chairman is authorized to order cessation of operations until issues are corrected.