The money flowing in sports betting in Nevada hit an all-time February high. Those numbers were released a day after the NFL officially decided the Raiders franchise is headed to Las Vegas.
The top-line look at Nevada sports betting
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the casino revenue numbers for February on Tuesday. The sports betting part of the equation was good news on the growth of wagering in the state.
The state took more than $380 million in sports bets during the month. That’s the best February on record by a wide margin. Last year was the only other February when Nevada sports betting handle even eclipsed $300 million for the month ($362 million).
We already knew how much bettors put down on the Super Bowl, with $138 million wagered on the game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. That included straight bets and parlays. That was up about $6 million from 2016.
Wagering on basketball — both the NBA and college — also ticked up year-over year, from $205 million to $213 million.
Sports betting revenue in Nevada
The sportsbooks in the state made $20.7 million on wagers. That’s down from 2016, when the books won $28 million.
As far as growth, however, handle is the far more important metric, as revenue on sports betting is prone to fluctuate in a given month.
In a not shocking development, the books beat the public yet again:
With February’s $20.7 million win, Nevada sports books have not had a losing month since July 2013, a stretch of 43 months.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) March 28, 2017
January was one of the worst months for the books ever on football, but they still managed to make money.
Gaming win was down across the state in February just under five percent, or about $44 million.
What’s next for Nevada sports betting
Nevada will look forward to see how it did in March, which is a busy time for the sportsbooks because of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Betting on March Madness brings people to the books in droves.
Last year, handle for March clocked in at $458 million. That means handle has a fighting chance of reaching half a billion dollars this month.
