House Bill No. 542, introduced by Representative Jackson, amends existing Louisiana gaming laws to adjust the allowable deductions for promotional play offered by gaming operators. The bill establishes that a licensee or gaming operator can deduct either $5 million in promotional play wagers or a newly defined percentage cap when calculating net gaming proceeds and gross revenue. The percentage cap will increase over the next three years, starting at 4% of taxable revenue in 2026, rising to 7% in 2027, and reaching 10% in 2028 and beyond.

The bill also clarifies the definitions of "net gaming proceeds," "gross revenue," and "net slot machine proceeds" to include promotional play wagers received. The previous law's stipulation that $5 million attributable to promotional play wagers would not be included in these calculations has been removed. This change aims to provide more flexibility for gaming operators in managing their promotional play deductions while ensuring that the deductions remain capped at a reasonable level based on their taxable revenue.

Statutes affected:
HB542 Original: 27:44(15), 27:205(16)
HB542 Engrossed: 27:44(15), 27:205(16), 27:353(9)