Nevada sportsbooks generated nearly $16 million in revenue in June, mostly due to a big month on beating the betting public on baseball bets.
Nevada sports betting revenue, at a glance
Nevada books won $15.9 million last month. The vast majority of that came from Major League Baseball wagering; more on that below.
The total revenue was the most ever for June, and almost double what the books won in 2016, but up only about a million dollars from the hold in 2015.
Total handle for the month was $294.1 million, down almost $6 million from last year’s $300 million in bets.
Baseball betting set records
The numbers for baseball were nothing short of spectacular.
The books set records for both win ($14.9 million) and handle ($207.1 million) on MLB.
The handle is the most for baseball in any month, and just the second time more than $200 million in wagers flowed through the books.
It was just the fourth time that books have generated more than $10 million from MLB betting.
So why was handle down?
Nevada sports betting appears to have suffered because of a short NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bettors almost got the best of the books on the NBA finals, as revenue clocked in at just just under $6,000. That’s despite the fact that more than $56 million was wagered on basketball in the month.
A year ago, the books got another $8 million in handle from a thrilling seven-game series between the two teams. So the lower overall handle is less concerning when viewed through that lens.
What’s on the horizon for Nevada sports betting?
July and August are historically the slowest months for sports betting in the state.
There was a shortage of marquee events to bet on in July, but books can hope the uptick in handle for baseball carries over to the dog days of summer.
August, though, will likely be an outlier. The super-fight between boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.and UFC fighter Conor McGregor takes place next month and is expected to draw a ton of betting action.