Nevada’s Sports Betting Handle Beats NJ, First Time In 3 Months

• Sports bettors in Nevada struggled with their betting strategies, as bettors posted their worst winning percentage since September 2018.
• Nevada brought in over $100 million more in wagers than that of New Jersey for the month.
• Year to year, the sports betting handle and revenue in September decreased by $24.7 million and $4.2 million, respectively.

LAS VEGAS – Nevada sports betting is back. This week, the Nevada Gaming Commission released its sports wagering revenue report detailing the action that took place in September.

The total betting handle was $546.3 million – the highest mark since March of this year – and the fifth-highest month since the repeal of PASPA. In comparison to New Jersey, Nevada brought in over $100 million more than that of New Jersey’s September total, as this marks the first month since June that New Jersey wasn’t the betting handle leader.

To nobody’s surprise, this betting handle was heavily influenced by those betting on the NFL and college sports. Football accounted for $377,468,599 worth of betting action, or 69% of the month’s handle. Proving that the NFL is the main source of sportsbooks’ revenue, September’s football handle exceeded all of the sports handles for the previous five months individually.

With the first regular-season of football to bet on, bettors struggled out of the gates. Their 89.65% winning percentage gave the Nevada sportsbooks their highest hold percentage since last year’s September action.

Due to the struggling bettors, the books kept $52.1 million in revenue before having to contribute $3.5 million to the state as a tax contribution. These marks fall in line with the hold percentage, as only September 2018 has received higher totals since the repeal of PASPA.

As the evidence suggests, betting action at Nevada sportsbooks decreased year over year. As the handle dropped by 4.3% comparing September 2018 and September 2019, the revenue of the books also dropped by 7.5%.

Assuming Nevada holds steady with a betting handle of roughly $550 million per month until the end of the year, the state would be on pace to exceed the $5 billion handle mark for the second straight year.

With more and more states legalizing sports betting, the focus will be on whether Nevada can hold true to their numbers or if they will fall off with bettors having other, possibly closer, betting options. Until any further data is released, it is safe to say Nevada is still the gambling mecca of the world.

News tags: Nevada | Nevada Gaming Commission | New Jersey | PASPA