Nevada has become the fifth state in the post-PASPA era to surpass USD 2 billion in sports wagering adjusted gross revenue, with the state’s Gaming Control Board (NGCB) reporting that operators claimed USD 68.1 million in winnings in October of this year.
The state joined New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in the select circle of those clearing USD 2 billion since betting outside Nevada first became available in June 2018. The USD 68.1 million for October 2023, with a hold close to 8.4%, is the third-highest total in state history, trailing only the nearly USD 72 million in November 2021 and USD 70.6 million in September 2022. Revenue was up almost 20% compared to October 2022 and 9.3% higher than September 2023’s USD 62.3 million.
The October showing marks the 32nd consecutive month Nevada has recorded at least USD 1 billion in gaming revenue and is 28.7% or USD 293.3 million higher than October 2019. Statewide, slot win of USD 894.9 million increased 2% or USD 17.6 million
It was the first time the house had a collective win rate above the industry standard of 7% in consecutive months since September-October 2019. October’s hold was the sixth-highest in 65 months of wagering when including the two months during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The Las Vegas Strip, led by baccarat win that was up 43%, had a solid month by recording USD 714.4 million in revenue, a 1.2% increase from October 2022 when it was USD 705.8 million. For the year, Strip gaming revenue is up 5.4% over 2022. The Las Vegas Strip’s games win totaled USD 308.5 million and increased 4.4%. The drop totaled USD 2 billion and decreased 5.5%, and hold percentage was 15.2% versus 13.8% last year. Games drop has decreased in six consecutive months on the Las Vegas Strip. Statewide total win, excluding the Las Vegas Strip, increased by 4.5% or USD 25.7 million.
Annual revenue is on its way to another record, up 3.3% in 2023 over the first 10 months of 2022, according to the NGCB. Nevada is trending 3.5 percent ahead of 2022’s single-year revenue record of USD 14.8 billion, while Strip casinos are trending 5.4 percent ahead of last year’s USD 8.2 billion record mark.
Handle totaled USD 815.7 million, down 11.5% from 12 months ago. The state received close to USD 4.6 million in taxes from sports wagering in October 2023, lifting the year-to-date total to USD 25.7 million. That is almost USD 1.9 million ahead of last year’s pace through 10 months.
SPORTS PERFORMANCE
The bulk of Silver State sportsbook revenue came from football, which totaled USD 48.3 million, while the house had a strong 8.8% win rate. It was the state’s fourth-highest monthly total for football operator winnings, which were up 44.7% compared to the previous October, despite a 10.1% drop in handle to USD 545.9 million.
Baseball was a distant second in revenue, just shy of USD 9.5 million, but there were plenty of losing futures tickets as operators had a 10.5% hold, the highest of any month of October post-PASPA since attaining a 13.8% win rate in 2019. Wagering in baseball had a steeper year-over-year drop, plunging 21.1% from October 2022 to USD 90.5 million.
The catch-all “other” category, which in Nevada includes golf, tennis, soccer, boxing, mixed martial arts, and auto racing, showed revenue of USD 3.5 million. The hold on those wagers edged below 4%, with USD 87.1 million worth of accepted wagers.
The start of the NBA season contributed to USD 3.1 million in basketball revenue, while hockey winnings totaled USD 2.2 million as the Vegas Golden Knights began defense of their Stanley Cup title. Hockey revenue more than doubled from the previous October, when it was only USD 888,000 as the 7.1% hold this year was 4.7 percentage points higher.
While parlay wagering is limited in Nevada, it did not prevent operators from routing the public for a second consecutive month. The eye-watering 41.1% hold resulted in the house keeping USD 1.5 million of the USD 3.6 million worth of multi-leg wagers placed.
Revenue remained near a 50-50 balance for the year between betting done by mobile apps and in person at retail sportsbooks, while the online betting sites accounted for more than 65% of the USD 6.5 billion wagered. Brick-and-mortar venues posted a robust 11.9% win rate in October as they claimed USD 33 million in revenue. It is the fourth time in the last 11 months retail books cleared USD 30 million in winnings, and they have accounted for 49.7% (USD 189.5 million) of the overall sportsbook revenue.
Mobile sportsbooks had a 6.5% win rate on USD 536.9 million worth of accepted wagers, the second-highest monthly hold recorded since the NGCB began publishing monthly breakouts in 2020. The only other one higher was the 6.8% win rate crafted on USD 343.9 million handle in November 2020. The mobile win rate heading into the final two months of 2023, however, is only 4.5% on USD 4.25 billion handle.