The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) reported that $375.9 million was wagered in July, down 7.9% year-over-year and 21.9% from June. This marks the fifth consecutive month of falling wagers in the Silver State.
It was also the first time a monthly handle has come below $400 million since the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020. Before the shutdown that led to record lows, the amount wagered hadn’t been that light since Aug. 2019.
The Silver State’s sports betting operators combined for $25.8 million in revenue, up 2% from July 2023 but down from June’s $29.8 million.
Nevada’s 6.9% hold was much lower than the double-digit run operators in other states enjoyed in July. However, the win rate was up from the previous month’s 6.2%, thanks to online sports betting producing a 7.5% win rate from $19.1 million in revenue on a $254.1 million handle.
Retail sportsbooks combined to generate $121.8 million in wagers and $6.7 million in revenue.
The Silver State filled its coffers with $1.7 million from sports betting tax revenue.
Diamond action shines
Baseball was a big winner for sportsbooks across Nevada in July. The primary summer sport produced a best-ever 9% hold on a $213.7 million handle. Revenue of $19.1 million pushed baseball profits over $50 million year-to-date.
The Olympics helped the “other sports” category, including tennis, auto racing, golf, and MMA, to a combined $124.1 million handle in July. A 6.9% win rate led to $8.6 million in revenue.
Bettors won the battle in basketball as operators reported a loss of $168,000 on a handle of $36.5 million.
The final month without football in 2024 saw just $1.7 million wagered on the sport.
Gaming dips
The NGCB reported total gaming revenue of $1.3 billion, a 6.9% dip from July 2023’s record profits of $1.4 billion.
However, NGCB’s senior economic analyst Michael Lawton told the Review-Journal that he “wouldn’t call this a downturn” because of how strong the previous year’s July was for casinos.
Total gaming revenue was up slightly from June’s $1.29 billion, as slot profits rose 11% month-over-month.
