Despite a slow sports betting calendar, Nevada sports betting saw gains in both handle and revenue for June.
Nevada sportsbooks took $544.8 million in bets during June, up 14.2% from May‘s $477.2 million. Sports betting revenue grew 8% to $29.2 million for the month for a 5.36% hold. Operators paid nearly $2 million in taxes to the state.
Nevada has one more likely slower month, July, to report before things pick up in the US sports betting world. Football season is right around the corner with NFL betting sure to pick up in earnest come August.
July will be a month worth marking in the history books even if handle slows down, though. Sportsbooks need just $6.6 million in revenue to eclipse the $1 billion revenue milestone since June 2018, the first full month of betting after the end of PASPA.
NJ sportsbooks were the first to break the 10-digit threshold, collecting $1.16 billion in total revenue since the state’s June 2018 launch.
Nevada sports betting on right side of trends
For the second straight month, Nevada is on the right side of the handle trend. It is one of seven out of 16 jurisdictions to report handle growth in June over May:
| State | June Handle | May Handle | Difference | June Revenue | May Revenue | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $766,888,420 | $814,270,654 | -5.8% | $71,267,544 | $52,895,430 | 34.7% |
| Nevada | $544,806,558 | $477,191,062 | 14.2% | $29,186,000 | $27,029,000 | 8.0% |
| Pennsylvania | $420,193,477 | $447,465,027 | -6.1% | $42,495,332 | $37,419,313 | 13.6% |
| Michigan | $259,504,202 | $257,748,035 | 0.7% | $27,244,793 | $21,228,714 | 28.3% |
| Indiana | $246,321,671 | $254,445,226 | -3.2% | $25,464,800 | $18,853,192 | 35.1% |
| Colorado | $229,764,688 | $248,968,193 | -7.7% | $19,730,957 | $15,154,761 | 30.2% |
| Tennessee | $174,500,000 | $160,900,000 | 8.5% | $16,100,000 | $13,700,000 | 17.5% |
| Iowa | $111,176,671 | $114,882,963 | -3.2% | $8,424,699 | $6,133,477 | 37.4% |
| Mississippi | $43,099,180 | $36,125,896 | 19.3% | $3,194,317 | $3,888,299 | -17.8% |
| New Hampshire | $39,268,179 | $42,367,381 | -7.3% | $3,869,773 | $3,115,230 | 24.2% |
| West Virginia | $29,923,766 | $25,484,663 | 17.4% | $3,466,223 | $2,688,065 | 28.9% |
| Rhode Island | $29,468,571 | $28,252,139 | 4.3% | $3,666,029 | $2,772,910 | 32.2% |
| Oregon | $24,903,118 | $27,780,213 | -10.4% | $2,841,767 | $2,350,290 | 20.9% |
| Washington DC | $19,518,408 | $13,772,411 | 41.7% | $2,191,486 | $2,008,091 | 9.1% |
| Delaware | $5,958,137 | $7,060,911 | -15.6% | $644,366 | $677,441 | -4.9% |
| Arkansas | $3,895,683 | $3,687,207 | 5.7% | $359,000 | $498,325 | -28.0% |
| Montana | $3,700,000 | $4,000,000 | -7.5% | $400,000 | $500,000 | -20.0% |
| Total | $2,952,890,729 | $2,964,401,981 | -0.4% | $260,547,086 | $210,912,538 | 23.5% |
*Illinois and Virginia have not reported June 2021 results yet.
While national handle is down 0.4% month-over-month, sports betting revenue is up an impressive 23.5%. A good chunk of that growth came from strong parlay hold in New Jersey.
Mobile handle ticks up in NV
Mobile sports betting handle share was down again in June to 57.7%. That’s compared to 62.4% in May and 65.3% in April.
That is much lower than the 80% or more seen in most markets with mobile sports betting, but Nevada’s sportsbooks also depend on tourist traffic and require in-person registration.
Keep an eye on that mobile number from August forward, though. Rising COVID-19 cases led to another mandate for all to wear masks in Las Vegas casinos, which will be reinstated this week. Tourism previously experienced a strong rebound in Las Vegas over the summer months.
Baseball handle strongest in June
Baseball accounted for the bulk of the bets in June with $226.2 million in handle. Had it not been for abysmal hold – 1.4% for $3.2 million in revenue – Nevada’s sportsbooks might have broken that $1 billion threshold in June.
Basketball ranked second with $194 million in handle. A strong hold of 10.22% helped offset baseball’s results.
Local bettors had nearly a full month to bet on the Vegas Golden Knights as the team played through June 24 in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Hockey handle ranked third overall with $44 million in bets and $3.1 million in revenue.
