Nevada Sportsbooks See A Near $500 Million Basketball Handle In March

• Nevada sportsbooks saw almost $500 million in basketball wagers for March.
• Over $35 million was kept as revenue for the sportsbooks from basketball alone.
• Since the start of the year, over $5 million has been taxed to the Nevada government.

LAS VEGAS – The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the gaming revenue report for March last week, with the state far exceeding expectations.

Setting a new record for a month handle, Nevada sportsbooks saw just under $600 million wagered for the month – thanks in part, mainly, to March Madness.

Basketball betting, with NBA included, accounted for $495.5 million of that handle, which was nearly 14% higher than the Nevada March sports betting handle of $437 million last year.

Even with the legalized and regulated sports betting industry growing across the country, there wasn’t much ready or able to slow down the Nevada books.

Revenue numbers followed suit with the overall wagering, as the books took in $32.5 million. Again, this was mainly due to the basketball numbers, which saw revenue topple $35.1 million.

With only $3.5 million being kept from baseball, the monthly revenue numbers dropped as a result of the final Super Bowl wagers leaving the system. Football cost the books over $12 million this month – a paltry figure considering their NFL season profits.

Over the first quarter of the Nevada sports betting industry, $83.1 million has been collected by sportsbooks. This accounts for over $5.5 million in tax contributions, considering the state receives 6.75% of the books’ gross revenue.

In the same time span, basketball bettors have shown up in full force, totaling a handle of $567.8 million. With a well above-average hold (10.73%) for the first three months of the year on basketball, the books have already collected $60.9 million from the sport alone.

April’s revenue report will likely see a lessened handle and revenue, due to the fact that basketball is nearing its end and the football season has passed. With hockey also set to close soon, this leaves baseball, the Masters, and any other tournament or event occurring (such as the NFL Draft or tennis majors) as the main focal point for Nevada gamblers.

Nevada sportsbooks have profited $314.2 million since April of last year; however, with the industry proving its success around the country, we expect this number to continually increase from here on out.

News tags: March Madness | Nevada | NV revenue