VIDEO: Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman On LSU Coaching Search, iGaming & More

In a video interview on Gambling.com’s “The Edge,” Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Christopher Hebert discussed the state's gaming issues, including the need to monitor potential betting irregularities surrounding the search for a new head football coach at LSU.

The state’s regulated sportsbooks cannot accept wagers on who the next LSU football coach will be. Still, inside information could be leaked to bettors wagering at unregulated sites, Hebert said. He added that state gaming regulators will be on the lookout for improprieties in that regard.

"We are always looking for those types of irregularities and not only looking for them, but we're going to fight them,” Hebert said.

The search for a new LSU head football coach has been in the news recently following the forced departures of Brian Kelly, the former coach, and Athletic Director Scott Woodward. These changes occurred after the Tigers' season turned lackluster, marked by losses to Southeastern Conference foes Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M. An interim coach, Frank Wilson, has been named, and an acting athletic director, Verge Ausberry, has been retained.

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A former Louisiana assistant attorney general and director of that office’s gaming division, Hebert was Gov. Jeff Landry in June 2024 to serve as Gaming Control Board chairman. Hebert replaced Ronnie Johns, the previous chairman, who had retired.

This year, Hebert has been named the American Gambling Awards “Regulator of the Year.” The awards, established by Gambling.com, recognize the best companies, organizations, and executives building the regulated American market for online gambling.

Louisiana is one of the most gaming-active states in the nation. The Bayou State is home to land-based casinos, riverboat casinos, four horse tracks with slots, video devices in thousands of commercial locations, and retail and mobile sports betting.

In the video interview on “The Edge,” Hebert discusses:

• Whether iGaming cannibalizes brick-and-mortar casinos: “You hear the arguments that iGaming is going to come in and cannibalize the brick-and-mortar casino space. But what we have seen in other jurisdictions is that that is not necessarily the case, that it actually can help to grow the brick-and-mortar market.”
• Educating athletes on sports betting:  “We want to put our athletes in the best place through education so that if and when someone does approach them to do something nefarious, they can make an informed decision.”
• Whether to ban certain kinds of bets: “It’s a very delicate balance when it comes to that, and we certainly don't want to drive our citizens in Louisiana to the illegal market." (Prop bets on college athletes were banned in Louisiana in 2024.)

Louisiana is one of 38 states with legal sports betting, with a 39th state, Missouri, set to launch legal sports betting on Dec. 1.