Nevada casino sportsbooks enjoyed record betting handle in September while falling just short of setting a new betting revenue record.
Figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show the state’s licensed casino operators generated gaming revenue of just under $980m in September, 3.25% higher than the same month last year but down around $10m from August 2017.
For the first three months of the state’s fiscal year, the statewide casino gaming revenue total is up 5% year-on-year.
The state’s slot machines had a good month, rising 1.6% to $595.5m, while games & tables improved 5.9% to $384.3m. The table gains were led by blackjack, which improved 4.4% to $111.6m, while baccarat gained 4.65% to $97.2m, craps shot up nearly 30% to $36.5m and roulette rose 3.5% to $32.7m.
But the month’s headline numbers belonged to its sportsbooks, which reported total betting volume in September of $558.4m, nudging past the previous all-time betting handle record of $557.4m set in November 2015, and nearly 27% higher than the same month last year.
Sportsbook revenue totaled $44.4m, up nearly 8.4% year-on-year. The numbers would have been significantly higher were it not for $5.2m of red ink in the ‘other’ category, reflecting punters cashing in winning tickets from August’s Mayweather v. McGregor tilt.
Fooball betting revenue rose nearly 10.3% year-on-year to $40.7m, the second-highest monthly football tally since September 2012’s gaudy return of $43.5m. Football betting handle hit $366.5m, a new September record in Nevada, while the books enjoyed a healthy 11.1% hold.
Baseball also had a good month, gaining a hefty 645% to $3.7m, although it should be noted that September 2016’s baseball tally suffered from an anemic 0.47% hold. Parlay cards improved 44.5% to $5.8m while the state’s pari-mutuel fantasy sports segment run by US Fantasy Sports reported revenue of $28k, a significant improvement over August’s $7k.
As for negative nellies, basketball reported a net loss of $620k as hold fell to -25.9% while the state’s race books saw revenue fall 4.7% to just under $3.5m.
