SB 294 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

GAMING: Provides relative to the allowable amount of promotional play offered by certain gaming operators and for deductions regarding promotional play. (7/1/26)

SB 294 establishes an annual $5 million deduction for promotional play wagers in Louisiana gaming operations. It allows licensed casinos and gaming operators to assign unused portions of this deduction to other licensed operators (under Chapters 4, 5, or 7), with written reporting to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. The bill amends definitions in gaming statutes to clarify how this deduction affects net gaming proceeds, gross revenue, and net slot machine proceeds calculations. This policy change directly affects licensed gaming operators by modifying how promotional play costs are accounted for in financial reporting.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
May 2026
Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Signed May 15, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB294 Original SB294 Act · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill updates the definitions of revenue for casino and slot machine operators to explicitly include a $5 million annual deduction for promotional play. It also expands the ability for these operators to assign unused promotional deductions to other licensed entities, increasing from two chapters to three chapters of the gaming title.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of promotional play deduction assignments to include licensees under Chapter 5 (racetracks), whereas previously they were limited to Chapters 4 and 7.
DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'Gross revenue' for casino operators and 'Net slot machine proceeds' for slot machine operators to explicitly include a $5 million annual deduction for promotional play wagers.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded the eligibility for assigning unused promotional play deductions to include licensees licensed under Chapters 4, 5, and 7, adding racetrack licensees to the list of potential recipients.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that assignments of promotional deductions must be reported to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board by both the assigning and receiving licensees.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 21, 2026 · House May 11, 2026

How they voted

350
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 40
Apr 21, 2026
D Democratic12
9 Yea 3
75% Yea
R Republican28
26 Yea 2
92% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
4
Committee
4
Amendments
1
May 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate.
lower
May 5, 2026
Introduced
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.
lower
Apr 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably (10-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.
lower
Apr 22, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
lower
Apr 21, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
Mar 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported with amendments.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Committee
Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Judiciary B.
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Kirk Talbot
Kirk Talbot
RRepublican
LA
10