When odds-on favorites do well, sportsbooks usually don’t.
That was the case with March Madness in the Silver State as Connecticut and South Carolina dominated the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported that sports betting operators produced $29.8 million of March revenue, down 32.1% from the same month in 2023.
Profits from basketball, which includes college and professional in Nevada’s by-sport breakdown, dropped 27.6% year-over-year while the hold fell from 6.8% to 5.3%.
The monthly handle was down $45.4 million, or 5.5%, year-over-year to $784.4 million in March. The operators’ hold was 3.8%.
Compared to February, the March handle rose 10.1% while revenue dropped 34.3%. The hold fell nearly three points.
Mobile Nevada sports betting, which accounted for $507 million of the total handle, was down 4.6% from March 2023.
Where’s the crowd?
There was a Super Bowl hangover as some of the casinos’ high-valued guests who visited Las Vegas for the Big Game in February didn’t return in March.
Sin City not hosting an NCAA tournament or a big-time UFC card, like in 2023, also contributed to lesser numbers compared to March 2023.
Still paying out
The Super Bowl was rough on operators, and Nevada bettors were still cashing tickets in March as sportsbooks paid out $12.9 million on the sport, which was down from last year’s $13.4 million football loss.
Bettors also hurt sportsbooks in hockey, which posted a win rate of just 1.6%.
The other sports, which include golf, MMA, boxing, auto racing, tennis, and soccer, increased operator revenue by $7.6 million.
