Nevada sports betting experienced an annual revenue boost in May.
Sportsbooks finished the month with more than $30 million in total revenue. It is an 11% increase over the $27 million in revenue sportsbooks generated during the same month last year.
Monthly NV sports betting handle reached $527.2 million in May. According to figures released this week by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, May handle dropped by 6% compared to last year ($562 million.)
Online sports betting accounted for just shy of 70% of the overall handle, with $363.6 million in mobile bets.
Nevada holds steady sports betting hand
Nevada sportsbooks posted a 5.7% hold, or win rate in May. It is consistent for Nevada but pales in comparison to newer sports betting markets.
For example, of the 23 other states reporting May financial figures to this point, only South Dakota (4.3%) held less than 10% last month. The hold percentage of the four states, outside Nevada, with the highest monthly sports betting handle as of this writing, are:
- Massachusetts: 13.6%
- Pennsylvania: 11.6%
- New York: 11.2%
- New Jersey: 10.5%
The Nevada sports betting market is uniquely different than other markets, though, and its lower hold percentage is a product of that. Nevada sportsbooks handle a higher percentage of in-person bets than any other state, limiting the variety of in-play and parlay bets sportsbooks offer.
Parlay bets consistently have the highest win rate for operators, given the inherent difficulty in winning multiple bets together.
Tech plays a role too
The quality of Nevada apps also trails most other states, as lack of sportsbook desire and arcane regulation combine to suppress mobile wagering.
Caesars Sportsbook recently launched a new app in Nevada. The app includes new features such as same-game parlays and odds boosts.
This improved tech offering came out of the Super Bowl betting debacle in February when the Caesars-backed William Hill app crashed just before kickoff of the big game.
