Fourth Straight $1B Betting Month For Nevada Sportsbooks

Nevada’s sportsbooks turned over a historically large sports betting handle in January. However, with sinking hold rates, can Nevada’s sports betting success be sustained?

Nevada’s sportsbooks handled over $1.109 billion in sports bets in January, up 9.3% from December and 71.6% compared to January 2021.
Despite these increases, Nevada’s sportsbooks posted their sixth consecutive month with a sub-par hold rate: if this trend continues, Nevada’s sports betting revenue may slow.

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada, one of the top sports betting markets in the United States, broke their single-month sports betting handle record in January with over $1.109 billion bet on sports.

January Another Huge Month For Nevada Sportsbooks

Nevada’s sportsbooks turned over $1,109,329,327 in legal sports wagers in January, according to a report released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Impressively, January was Nevada’s fourth consecutive month with over $1 billion in legal sports betting handle.

Nevada’s sports betting handle is also up 9.3% month-over-month (compared to December 2021, when Nevada’s sportsbooks turned over about $1.104 billion in sports wagers.) Nevada’s January sports betting handle is also up 71.6% year-over-year.

In January, sportsbooks in Nevada held 4.5% of their handle for $49,997,000 in sports betting revenue.

This is a remarkable increase from a month prior, that hold rate was just 1.44%, good for just $15.96 million in sports betting revenue in December 2021.

Low Nevada Sports Betting Hold Rates: A Trend?

While the month-over-month increases in handle, revenue, and hold rate are certainly encouraging to Nevada’s sportsbook operators, there is one alarming trend.

Compared to a year ago, Nevada brought in 4.6% less revenue in January 2022, despite a significantly larger handle.

This is largely a result of a high (8.62%) hold rate in January 2021, which was nearly double January 2022’s hold rate.

Unfortunately, the lower hold rate seems more like a trend than an anomaly – for the past six months (dating back to August 2021), Nevada’s sports betting hold rate has not surpassed 6.89% (September 2021).

Three months of the six saw a hold rate of less than 5%: December 2021 (1.44%), October 2021 (4.39%), and August 2021 (3.36%).

Prior to that six month stretch, Nevada was on a six-month run of high hold rates. From October 2020 through July 2021, Nevada’s sportsbooks did not post a hold rate lower than 6.22% and recorded several extremely strong months, including November 2020 (10.14%).

While it remains to be seen if Nevada can return to its previous high hold rates, it has been over half a year since sportsbooks in Nevada consistently posted high hold rates.

If the trend continues for much longer, sportsbooks may have to get creative to increase profitability.

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Jerad Paparella

Jerad has been a welcomed addition to the LegalSportsBetting.com writing team. Covering topics regarding the expansion of sports betting in the US, Jerad focuses on legislative efforts, bill signings and other methods for sports betting legalization. Finishing his education as a college baseball player, Jerad has first-hand knowledge of competitive sports, paired with years of personal sports betting as well. As a political science major at the University of Central Florida, Jerad covers the political, legal, and legislative aspects of sports gambling without any issues.