Sports betting in Nevada saw a similar dip in activity than the rest of the US in April with the sports calendar starting to slow.
Handle was $582.5 million for the month. On the surface, that is a steep 32.5% drop from March, but that is not fully indicative of the market’s health. Year-over-year, handle is up 28.1%.
It was the first time since August 2021 that Nevada sportsbooks reported less than $700 million in handle. Even with Nevada still seen as a prime destination for US sports betting, the dip shows just how important NFL betting, college football betting and March Madness betting are to the industry.
Nevada sports betting revenue down, too
Sportsbooks had a stronger average hold in April at 4.35% compared to 4.28% in March. With the lower handle, though, sports betting revenue fell 31.1% from March.
It has not been the best start to 2022 for Nevada operators with their highest hold of the year just 4.51% from January.
NV sportsbooks held just 4.29% over the first four months of the year. Compare that to the state’s 5.69% average and the 7.0% average for US sports betting, both tracked since June 2018.
Football a drag on revenue
Sportsbooks would have had a better month if it not for football dragging revenue down by $4.1 million.
There was $3.4 million bet on football during the month for a -123.16% hold. That, of course, is not just bettors crushing sportsbooks on NFL Draft and USFL betting, though.
The drag is also aided by NFL playoff and Super Bowl tickets still flowing through the sportsbooks as bettors cash in their winnings. March saw $17.5 million paid out on football wagers.
Basketball figures fall off
The importance of March Madness and a full slate of regular-season NBA games is quite obvious when comparing April’s basketball betting to March.
April saw sportsbooks hold 5.91% on $247.1 million in bets for $14.6 million in revenue. Compare that to the $708.9 million bet in March with $47.8 million in revenue on a 6.74% hold.
That was partially offset by baseball, which started later than usual this year because of the brief MLB lockout. Baseball was the only other category to top $100 million in handle with $187.7 million bet and $7.1 million in revenue on a 3.8% hold.