A decline in sports betting action continued in the Silver State.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported that online and retail sportsbooks combined in April to generate $569.3 million in total wagers, down 27.4% compared to March and 4.8% from April 2023.
March’s handle was down 5.5% year-over-year as well. The NGCB claimed a Super Bowl-site hangover that month as high-valued guests didn’t return after spending time in Las Vegas in February. There wasn’t a UFC event or NCAA tournament games in town to draw a big crowd.
Did the hangover carry over to April? April revenue of $30.8 million rose 3.4% month-over-month but fell 5% year-over-year.
Nevada sports betting operators’ monthly hold of 5.41% was nearly identical compared to April 2023 and a touch higher than 5.3% from the previous month.
Bettors bash retail
It was again a rough month for retail sportsbooks as operators produced a 3.5% hold on a handle of $179.2 million. Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks made $6.3 million of April’s total revenue.
However, March was worse. Retail produced a 1.4% hold in the previous month.
Online sports betting’s $389.8 million handle accounted for 68.5% of the amount wagered and was down 1.4% year-over-year. Mobile wagering produced a 6.3% win rate.
The Silver State hauled in a little more than $2 million in tax revenue.
Pigskin proves costly
Football is still draining sportsbooks’ revenue.
After paying out nearly $13 million to pigskin bettors in March, Nevada sports betting operators shelled out another $5.7 million in April on a handle of $2.4 million.
With college basketball and the NBA regular season wrapping up and playoffs getting underway in April, the roundball sport produced $13.3 million of revenue on a handle of $222.9 million.
Baseball gave sportsbooks a solid month with $10.7 million of revenue on a handle of $188.9 million.
In a month when the NHL playoffs began, hockey had the highest hold of any individual sport at 10.4%. The sport produced $5.7 million in revenue as the Vegas Golden Knights were knocked out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The “other” sports combined to generate $6.8 million of profit on a $100 million handle.
