Mississippi Sports Betting Revenue Dips Compared To 2021

• According to a report released by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, Mississippi’s sportsbooks turned over about $10 million more in January than in December.
• Despite this increase in month-over-month handle, revenue is down over 28% compared to January 2021, partially as a result of a lower hold rate.

JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi’s sportsbooks had a relatively solid month in January, though according to data from the Mississippi Gaming Commission, sports betting revenues are down year-to-year.

Sportsbooks in Mississippi turned over $66,523,295 in sports betting handle in January 2022, good for $6,521,389 in revenue at a solid 9.8% win rate.

The monthly report released by the Mississippi Gaming Commission showed that Mississippi raked in an estimated $783,000 in sports betting tax revenue in January.

Handles Up Month-Over-Month, Revenue Down Year-Over-Year

Mississippi sportsbook handles are up over $10 million compared to December; however, there is some concern.

With just over $6.5 million in sports betting revenue in January 2022, Mississippi’s sportsbook revenue is down 28.5% from their $9,114,483 revenue figure from January 2021.

While this is a somewhat alarming decrease, much of the loss in profitability can be explained by the sportsbooks’ hold rates in the respective months. In January 2021, Mississippi’s legal sports betting operators maintained an extraordinary 13.5% hold rate. In January 2022, the sportsbooks maintained just a 9.8% hold rate.

While this is still a very respectable rate (typically, a hold rate of 6% or greater is acceptable to operators, with a 10% or greater hold rate being a benchmark for greater success) it can certainly explain at least a portion of the sportsbooks’ decreased revenue figures.

Parlays A Big Win For Sportsbooks, Coastal Books Carrying State Financial Figures

Breaking down the Mississippi Gaming Commission’s report, sportsbooks had the most success with parlay wagers.

This makes sense considering how much more difficult it is to win a parlay wager than a straight bet, and the numbers bear that out: each of Mississippi’s three regions boasted a parlay hold rate of over 20%.

In the Northern and Central regions, football did well for sportsbooks. The Northern region held 16.22% of football bets while the Central region held 16.19% of wagers.

However, sportsbooks in Coastal Mississippi were hurt by football bettors in January, holding just 3% of bets.

Basketball profitability varied significantly by region, with the Coastal region holding just 3.29% of basketball wagers and the Central region holding 12.61%.

Among regions, Coastal Mississippi hosted the greatest proportion of sports wagering with over $45 million in handle. Northern Mississippi ($10.9 million) and Central Mississippi ($9.6 million) rounded out the three regions.

News tags: Central Mississippi | Coastal Mississippi | Mississippi | Mississippi Gaming Commission | Northern Mississippi