Nevada Tops $1B in October Sports Betting & Other Key Takeaways
With Nevada sports betting in October topping $1 billion and gaming win continuing to rise, the state continues to show it can rake in revenue after the pandemic, although the new variant could slow things down again.
Nevada gaming operators had a total gaming win of $1.22 billion, up 5.6% from September’s gaming win of $1.16 billion. October was the eighth straight month that Nevada reached the billion-dollar mark. Who knows how high the gaming win could go if Nevada had real money online casino options.
But it was the sports betting handle where Nevada showed it can still compete with New Jersey, the only other state to top $1 billion in total handle in a month and it has done it the last two months.
Nevada Sports Betting October vs. September
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | $1.100B | $703.750M | $48.312M |
| September | $786.509M | $495.226M | $54.205M |
| Change | Up 39.9% | Up 42.1% | Down 10.9% |
Here are key takeaways from the October report in Nevada:
Sports Betting Back in a Big Way
October was a great month nationally for sports betting with the NFL and college football seasons in full swing and the NBA and NHL regular seasons beginning. It was no different in Nevada.
The Nevada October sports betting handle of $1.1 billion was up 39.9% from September’s $786.5 million. It was a year-over-year increase of 66.8% over October 2020’s $659.9 million.
Needless to say, the October sports betting handle in Nevada was a state record. The previous record was set last month.
Football betting easily led the way in Nevada. Football betting accounted for $729.3 million of the total handle, followed by baseball ($121.7 million) and basketball ($110.9 million).
Nevada vs. New Jersey Sports Betting Handle
| Nevada | New Jersey | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2021 | $1.100B | $1.303B | NJ by $203M |
| September 2021 | $786.509M | $1.011B | NJ by $224.6M |
| August 2021 | $427.425M | $664.676M | NJ by $237.3M |
| July 2021 | $409.660M | $578.729M | NJ by $169.1M |
| June 2021 | $545.368M | $766.888M | NJ by $221.5M |
| May 2021 | $477.191M | $814.271M | NJ by $337.1M |
| April 2021 | $458.210M | $747.987M | NJ by $289.8M |
| March 2021 | $640.985M | $859.618M | NJ by $218.6M |
| February 2021 | $554.058M | $742.953M | NJ by $188.9M |
| January 2021 | $646.492M | $958.718M | NJ by $312.2M |
| December 2020 | $588.493M | $996.311M | NJ by $407.8M |
| November 2020 | $609.377M | $931.620M | NJ by $322.2M |
| October 2020 | $659.899M | $803.096M | NJ by $143.2M |
| September 2020 | $575.144M | $748.588M | NJ by $173.4M |
| August 2020 | $474.948M | $667.979M | NJ by $193.0M |
| July 2020 | $163.552M | $315.119M | NJ by $151.6M |
| June 2020 | $78.152M | $165.015M | NJ by $86.9M |
Another Mobile Record, Also
Nevada’s mobile percentage doesn’t top 90% like it does in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois, to name a few. Nevada still has an in-person registration requirement and it still wants patrons in its casinos. So it doesn’t push mobile sports betting like other states.
Still, the October mobile sports betting handle in Nevada was $703.8 million, a record for the state and an impressive 63.9% of total handle. The mobile handle was an increase of 42.1% from September ($495.3 million) and up 86.7% over October 2020 ($376.8 million).
Revenue a Mixed Bag
October sports betting revenue in Nevada was down from last month, but up year over year. The October sports betting revenue was $48.3 million, a drop of 10.9% from September ($54.2 million) and up 14% over October 2020 ($42.4 million).
But overall, including the October total gaming win of $1.22 billion, the month was a successful one for Nevada. It should continue in November before Las Vegas could see some affect from the new COVID-19 variant that is making the rounds around the globe.
And it’s possible after New York launches online sports betting either late this year or early next year that Nevada can overtake New Jersey. Some estimates have at least 25% of New Jersey’s wagering handle coming from bettors crossing into the state from New York.
The question is, does New York move ahead of New Jersey and Nevada for sports betting supremacy after the market there matures? If the New York mobile market launches before the 2022 Super Bowl, we should have the answer soon enough.
