National Sports Betting Figures Continue Trend Upward With Record October
@cgboan
The national sports betting revenue picture continues to get rosier, with a new monthly record set in October.
The national sports betting handle during October was $7.54 billion, shattering the previous record high — $5.49 billion — set in September 2021.
The current handle for November, which does not include figures from Illinois, Arizona or Delaware, is north of $6 billion, meaning it’ll likely be a second consecutive month with a handle above $7 billion nationally.
One reason for the surge in handle late in the year has been the introduction of sports betting in Arizona in early September. The state reported a record-setting opening month handle of $291.2 million, then followed it up with almost $500 million in handle in October.
Though sports betting is starting to take off across the country, only a handful of states allow online casino operations.
What Revenue Numbers Look Like Nationally
Though the sports betting handle totals garner much of the public’s attention, the industry bottom line isn’t too far behind.
The overall sports betting revenue figures for October came in at $514.8 million — easily beating the previous record, of $334.5 million, which was set in September 2021.
The revenue figures for November, which again do not include Illinois, Arizona or Delaware, are already at $510.3 million. It’s clear November should be a record-breaking month for revenue in the U.S., building on an already strong 2021 for the gaming industry.
Trends in the Gaming Industry in 2021
The overall numbers for the 30 states and District of Columbia that have legalized sports betting continue to trend upward for 2021.
The national handle largely gained ground during the year, going from $4.37 billion in January to $7.54 billion in October.
There were some ebbs and flows in the yearly data, with declines in February ($4.37B to $4.01B), April ($4.63B in March to $3.70B), June ($3.71B in May to $3.68B) and July ($3.68B in June to $2.80B), though the national numbers picked up again once football kicked off in September.
The final four months of 2021 hit a new gear nationally, with a handle of $5.49 billion in September, before clearing more than $7 billion in October.
New Jersey is leading the way when it comes to handle. The state broke the $1 billion threshold for the first time in September, then set the current monthly record for a single state in October with $1.3 billion in wagers. New Jersey was down to $1.26 billion in November.
Nevada wasn’t far behind. The state most synonymous with gambling topped $1 billion in sports betting handle in October for the first time ever.
National sports betting revenue climbed from $333.8 million in January to $514.8 million in October.
2022 Looking Up for Sports Betting Industry
The overall revenue numbers for the U.S. gaming industry should continue to rise, with the introduction of sports betting in states like Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, and New York.
All four markets should be major players in the industry, with a combined population of more than 41 million people and popular sports teams in each market.
The addition of the four markets would increase the number of states with legalized sports betting to 34, meaning more betting records will be on the horizon.
2021 National Sports Betting Numbers
| Handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|
| January | $4.37B | $333.8M |
| February | $4.01B | $179.9M |
| March | $4.63B | $310.9M |
| April | $3.70B | $256.1M |
| May | $3.71B | $244.7M |
| June | $3.68B | $308.4M |
| July | $2.80B | $243.9M |
| August | $3.07B | $196.1M |
| September | $5.49B | $334.5M |
| October | $7.54B | $514.8M |
| November | $6.11B* | $510.3M* |
| December | TBD | TBD |
| TOTAL | $49.11B | $3.433B |
* – November totals do not include Illinois, Arizona and Delaware.
Contributors
Christopher Boan writes for TopUSCasinos.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
