BATON ROUGE - Sports betting, not even legal a month in Louisiana, getting off to a strong start.

"Business has been phenomenal," said Cheryl Duhon with L'Auberge Casino. "It far exceeded what we first expected."

L'Auberge is the first casino to offer sports wagering in Baton Rouge, and Duhon says the sportsbook is bringing in a lot of new first-time guests.

"We are so excited to see so many new faces in our sportsbook, but also on our table games and slot machines," Duhon said.

State gaming officials agree sports betting should help casinos rebound from the losses they took during the pandemic.

"We know that revenues from sports betting is going to be really really good," said Ronnie Johns, Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Commission.

Johns says casinos will submit their first revenue reports next month. Most of the money will go to the state's general fund, and 10% will go to local governments. However, a lot of the revenues will go to fund early education.

"The real success of education is starting early with the children," Johns said. "So 25% of those revenues, which will be significant, is going to early childhood education."

With online sports betting starting next year, Johns expects early education in Louisiana should be well funded.