Nevada sportsbooks set yet another monthly record for sports betting handle, with just under $300 million in wagers flowing through operators in April.
The top-line look at April sports betting
All Nevada books combined to take in about $292 million in sports bets last month, according to data released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
That easily eclipses any April on record. According to historical wagering data from the NGCB:
- Handle was up nearly $40 million year over year; books took in about $250 million last April
- Handle is up over $100 million in a three-year period: books took in about $190 million in April of 2013.
It was also another positive month in terms of revenue for sportsbooks, who generated $13.5 million in revenue. A dent of $1.7 million was put in that figure by old football tickets that are still being cashed in.
According to ESPN sports betting writer David Purdum:
With April’s $13.5 million win in April, Nevada sports books have now come out ahead in 33 consecutive months.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) May 26, 2016
Baseball coming online helps Nevada numbers
The first full month of baseball helped handle and the bottom line for sportsbook operators.
Wagers were almost evenly split between basketball and baseball: $130 million in handle on the former (NBA and NCAA), and $124 million on the latter.
Baseball was hot to bet on this past month compared to last April: About $30 million more in wagers were placed on Major League Baseball than last year.
MLB was also the biggest source of profit, with books taking $8 million on baseball, for a hold of 6.4 percent.
Sportsbooks continue their recent roll
This year continues to show a consistent upward trend for Nevada sportsbooks:
- Handle was up about $50 million year over year for March.
- February and January were record months for handle, as well.
- All of that came after a banner 2015, which featured $4.2 billion in handle.