Nevada has entered the elite company as it has recorded billion-dollar sports betting handle for the first time in its history. The Nevada Gaming Control Board noted on Tuesday that the handle topped $1.1 billion in October as the five weekends undoubtedly boosted the numbers in the process.
Nevada Enters the One Billion Dollar Club in October
The sports betting handle in October shattered its record that was yet in September. This is an increase of 39.9 percent from the $786.5 million that was posted the month prior. The numbers made history as it was the second-largest handle of all time, trailing New Jersey’s $1.3 billion handles that were also set in October.
The year-to-date numbers are also impressive as the sports betting industry is still thriving in a pandemic as the total handle showed an increase of 66.8% from that year’s record of $659.9 million. The mobile sports betting handle set a new record as well, with $704.8 million in bets placed, which was $495.3 million and 86.7% higher than last October’s statistics.
However, bettors that placed wagers throughout the month had a successful month when compared to other months. Even with the higher handle, the revenue was much lower as October signified a bettor-friendly month. October’s revenue numbers showed $48.3 million, which depicts a decrease of 10.9 percent from September’s $54.2 million.
Still, the revenue was 14 percent higher than last October’s numbers of $42.4 million. The revenue numbers for October are just a hold of 4.4 percent, which is below Nevada’s average, and sportsbook operators paid $3.3 million in the month. The gaming total win also came out to $1.2 billion.
Football Was the Main Attraction for the Nevada Sports Betting Handle
As expected, football betting, especially the NFL, has taken over the sports betting market. The number of bet slips and amounts wagered on the NFL almost September’s record handle as it brought in $729.3 in bets. September’s football wagers numbers only hit $477.7 million in total bets.
Bettors had an excellent month betting on football as most of the money wagered returned to the consumers. Sportsbook operators took 28.9 million. Baseball was the second most popular sport as the league was entering the postseason and World Series. Bettors wagered $121.7 million and took $4.2 million in revenue.
The start of the NBA season helped push $110.9 million in total wagers, and books could walk away with $8 million in revenue. The NHL saw growth as their season also began in October as bettors placed $42.9 million and 1.1 million in revenue for the books. The rest of the wagers involved parlays and other sports.
The number of bets placed on parlays totaled $11.4 million, bringing in $4.3 million in revenue. The other sports totaled $84.5 million, and the revenue was $1 million.
The start of college basketball can help push the numbers even higher, with football still the most popular sport in the last quarter of the year. Sports betting still has more markets to explore in the United States. Still, Nevada finally hitting the billion-dollar mark is a good sign for the industry as other markets are looking to engage more people.
