Sportsbooks in Nevada have benefited from an extra week of NFL regular-season games in the schedule. With that help, Nevada was able to extend its $1 billion monthly handle to four straight months.
Nevada’s January Sports Betting Handle
January’s total sports handle hit exactly $1.109 billion, which was slightly higher than the all-time high that was set back in October. October also had an extra weekend of NFL and college football on its schedule.
The handle notes an increase of 9.3 percent from the previous month’s numbers. When comparing the year-to-date figures, the handle has skyrocketed 71.6 percent. On the other hand, sportsbooks struggled to see an increase in revenue as the schedule favored the bettors.
Sportsbook operators only had a hold of 4.5 percent, which translated to $50 million in revenue for the month. The industry-standard win rate stands at seven percent. The revenue for the month was more than triple what sportsbooks combined to bring in last month.
When taking a look at the revenue numbers from a year ago, the figures signify a decrease of 4.6 percent. Sportsbooks combined to pay approximately $3.4 million in state taxes for the month.
Nevada has a long history with sports betting as it was the third state to reach the $1 billion handle mark. The total handle figures for the month is the sixth-highest total in the industry in the post-PASPA era. The Silver State currently has the sixth, seventh, eighth, and 10th highest monthly handles in the industry.
With Football in the Rear-View Mirror, Basketball Takes Over
The record handle was more likely set due to the extra week of NFL football; however, basketball wagers hit an all-time high for a month. Bettors across the state bet $504.9 million, but sportsbook operators had a hold percentage of 2.24. This led to just $11.3 million in revenue.
Sportsbooks will be looking forward to March in Nevada as bettors wagered $501.4 million on basketball last March, with NBA and March Madness taking place. For January, football favored the house more than the consumers as books held 8.06 percent of the $454 million wagered.
Operators brought in total revenue of $36.6 million in revenue. In regards to total handle, hockey held the third position with $75.3 million in bets. However, operators combined for a negative hold of 0.19 percent, which led to a loss of $143,000 for the month.
Mobile sports betting is not as big as other states in the industry. Still, the mobile handle surpassed $700 million for the fourth straight month and hit an all-time high of $$786.8 million. The mobile handle accounted for 70.9 percent of the overall handle.
Operators did not do well online compared to its retail locations. Mobile sportsbooks combined to have a hold percentage of 1.93 and just $15.2 million in revenue.
Nevada was not the only state that set a new record in regards to its handle total. Out of the 20 jurisdictions that posted their monthly totals, 14 states posted new record highs to open the new year.
