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Louisiana legislators have approved a plan to give most college athletic programs in Louisiana nearly $2 million in state tax revenue annually. Care to guess where that money will be coming from?
The tax on sports gambling in Louisiana is slated to go from 15% to 21.5%.
House Bill 639 by Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, cleared the Senate on a 35-3 vote Sunday, after previously passing the House 74-15. Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign it into law.
Under the new tax rate, Louisiana would receive about $77 million annually from sports gambling, with about $20 million dedicated to the new fund. Each school would get approximately $1.7 million annually.
The money could be used for new scholarships, insurance, medical coverage, facility enhancements, litigation settlement fees and Alston awards, which are education-related awards universities give to college athletes.
The proposed increase in sports gambling taxes has bipartisan support, with both sides saying the revenue should be used to offset the “social ills” of gambling. The higher rate would generate more money for addiction programs.
But the decision to dedicate some of the revenue to college athletics at a time when the state is under budget constraints troubles some progressives.
“Legalized mobile gambling has created or exacerbated many social and cultural problems, including addiction, bankruptcies and even increases in domestic violence,” said Peter Robins-Brown, executive director of Louisiana Progress, an advocacy group for working-class and marginalized communities. “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.”
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