In any other month, Nevada sportsbooks would have set the all-time US record for handle in a month.
The $1.1 billion in bets processed by sportsbooks in the Silver State comes second to the $1.3 billion bet at New Jersey sportsbooks in October. Still, seeing the second state to pass $1 billion in bets during this NFL betting season is significant for sports betting in Nevada and the US in general.
Sports betting revenue took a hit from bettor-friendly results. The $48.3 million in revenue is a hold of just 4.4%, below Nevada’s historical average. Operators paid $3.3 million in taxes.
Total handle is up 66.8% from last October’s then-record of $659.9 million. October’s tally is also up 39.9% from September’s old record of $786.5 million. Remember, five Sundays of NFL betting boosted October’s overall numbers.
While US sports betting still has a long way to go, it’s clear for now the doom-and-gloom projections for Nevada sportsbooks were premature at best.
Football alone nearly set Nevada sportsbooks record
Football dominated bet slips so heavily in October that it almost broke September’s total record handle by itself, according to the state report. There was $729.3 million bet on football, though much of that was returned to bettors. Books won just $29.8 million, or 4.1%.
Baseball remained in second with $121.7 million bet. Sportsbooks held even less on baseball than football with $4.2 million in revenue for a 3.5% hold.
The start of the NBA season helped push basketball handle to third overall with $110.9 million bet. Operators kept $8 million in revenue with a 7.2% hold.
The rest:
- Hockey: $42.9 million bet, $1.1 million in revenue on 2.5% hold.
- Parlays: $11.4 million bet, $4.3 million in revenue on 37.3% hold.
- Other: $84.5 million bet, $1 million in revenue on 1.2% hold.
US on its way to another handle record
Given the five full weekends, it’s not a surprise to see US sports betting handle surge past last month’s totals.
Total handle sits at $5.159 billion for October with 16 jurisdictions reporting so far. That’s compared to $5.202 billion bet in September in 22 jurisdictions.
| State | Oct. 2021 handle | Oct. 2020 handle | Difference | Oct. 2021 revenue | Oct. 2020 revenue | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $1,303,198,342 | $803,096,172 | 62.3% | $84,152,035 | $58,508,647 | 43.8% |
| Nevada | $1,100,712,575 | $659,899,331 | 66.8% | $48,312,000 | $42,388,000 | 14.0% |
| Pennsylvania | $776,277,954 | $525,802,524 | 47.6% | $42,282,405 | $47,834,647 | -11.6% |
| Michigan | $497,565,425 | $46,120,824 | 978.8% | $26,949,853 | $7,596,972 | 254.7% |
| Indiana | $461,131,242 | $230,932,251 | 99.7% | $27,683,035 | $21,098,460 | 31.2% |
| Tennessee | $375,300,000 | N/A | N/A | $23,300,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Iowa | $280,899,986 | $81,902,416 | 243.0% | $6,556,218 | $9,089,995 | -27.9% |
| New Hampshire | $98,191,306 | $47,055,486 | 108.7% | $5,409,197 | $4,203,875 | 28.7% |
| Mississippi | $83,527,015 | $61,192,425 | 36.5% | $9,146,353 | $8,769,600 | 4.3% |
| West Virginia | $77,760,542 | $44,633,016 | 74.2% | $3,876,503 | $3,742,779 | 3.6% |
| Oregon | $37,639,041 | $29,455,228 | 27.8% | $3,022,298 | $2,751,147 | 9.9% |
| Washington DC | $26,332,228 | $18,535,847 | 42.1% | $1,570,661 | $3,539,869 | -55.6% |
| New York | $25,567,296 | $18,107,259 | 41.2% | $1,718,614 | $2,623,464 | -34.5% |
| Arkansas | $9,506,183 | $6,559,859 | 44.9% | $803,557 | $940,514 | -14.6% |
| Montana | $4,400,000 | $2,930,000 | 50.2% | $568,000 | $491,000 | 15.7% |
| South Dakota | $815,037 | N/A | N/A | $98,037 | N/A | N/A |
| Total | $5,158,824,172 | $2,576,222,638 | 100.2% | $285,448,766 | $213,578,969 | 33.7% |
Those six states still waiting to report October’s totals combined for $1.360 billion in September handle:
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Rhode Island
- Virginia
- Wyoming
That tally for September isn’t quite finished either. Arizona still needs to report its first few weeks of operations. Those results were expected Monday but are delayed.
