Nevada sports betting handle reached $659 million in February. It is the lowest monthly total since NV sportsbooks handled $408.8 million in August 2022.
Online Nevada sports betting accounted for 61% of betting dollars in February, which lags behind most other states.
The quality of Nevada apps also trails most other states, as lack of sportsbook desire and arcane regulation combines to suppress mobile wagering.
Nevada sports betting ‘still very healthy’
Nevada has recorded year-over-year decreases in monthly sports betting handle for seven consecutive months and eight out of the last nine.
Despite the recent declines and overall lowering trend, Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told LSR he believes “the wagering activity is still very healthy.”
Basketball dominates Nevada sports betting in February
Nevada is one of the few states that breaks down betting handle by sport. Basketball dominated the NV sports betting market in February, totaling $390 million in handle. Football was a distant second at $153.9 million in handle.
Football wagering in February was down 15.4% or $27.9 million year-over-year, according to the NGCB.
Super Bowl betting handle likely would have been higher if not for tech issues taking down the Caesars-owned William Hill Nevada app just before kickoff. Several in-person Las Vegas sportsbooks were affected by the outage as well.
Hold ticks up, parlay cards boost profits
The overall hold percentage in February was 6.26%, up from 5.39% in January, generating $41.27 million in total February sports betting revenue. Nevada collected $2.78 million in taxes last month.
Nevada sportsbooks held onto 6.1% of dollars bet on football, 5.5% on basketball, and 11.5% on hockey. Sports betting operators held onto a massive 55% of parlay card bets last month, up from a 43% hold in January. Parlay cards generated $613,000 in revenue.
