Nevada’s January Sportsbook Handle Falls Short of Monthly Record

Operators may already face an uphill climb to beat their February 2022 numbers as well.

Geoff Zochodne - Senior News Analyst at Covers.com
Geoff Zochodne • Senior News Analyst
Feb 28, 2023 • 11:19 ET • 1 min read
Keegan Kolesar Vegas Golden Knights NHL
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

Silver State bookmakers fell short last month of the legal sports betting record they set in January 2022, recently released figures show. 

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday that the state’s retail and online sports betting sites handled $936.5 million in wagers in January, down 15.6% compared to a year earlier, when operators recorded an all-time high of $1.1 billion in monthly action. 

Mobile wagering accounted for more than half of this January’s handle in Nevada, as betting with online sportsbooks was $581.5 million for the month, according to the gaming control board,down 26.2% compared to a year earlier.

Silver State silver lining

On a positive note, Nevada sports betting was up month-over-month, as the state's $936.5 million in action topped December’s $880.4 million in handle. 

Still, Nevada sportsbooks won $50.4 million last month from bettors, a hold percentage of 5.39%. Both revenue and win rate were down compared to January 2022, by 0.9% and 0.89 percentage points, respectively.  

Bookmakers may already face an uphill climb to beat their February 2022 numbers. 

Nevada operators saw a 15% dip in wagering on this year’s Super Bowl, with the handle on the Big Game falling to $153.2 million. The William Hill sportsbook app also crashed in Nevada just before the Super Bowl began, which could account for some of any wagering weakness that is reported next month.

Pages related to this topic

Geoff Zochodne, Covers Sports Betting Journalist
Senior News Analyst

Geoff has been writing about the legalization and regulation of sports betting in Canada and the United States for more than three years. His work has included coverage of launches in New York, Ohio, and Ontario, numerous court proceedings, and the decriminalization of single-game wagering by Canadian lawmakers. As an expert on the growing online gambling industry in North America, Geoff has appeared on and been cited by publications and networks such as Axios, TSN Radio, and VSiN. Prior to joining Covers, he spent 10 years as a journalist reporting on business and politics, including a stint at the Ontario legislature. More recently, Geoff’s work has focused on the pending launch of a competitive iGaming market in Alberta, the evolution of major companies within the gambling industry, and efforts by U.S. state regulators to rein in offshore activity and college player prop betting.

Popular Content

Legal Canadian sports betting

Best Canadian betting sites Ontario sports betting
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo