Nevada Sports Betting Revenue Lower Than Expected

Sports Betting Figures Sports Betting

Sports Betting Figures in Nevada Take a Nosedive

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 05 April 2021

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

See Full Bio

The state of Nevada recently revealed its sports betting figures for February, and like many other betting states, the news was not great. The data showed that sports betting handle and revenue took a nosedive in February, with a number of factors blamed for the drop in sports betting activity for the month.

This marks the second month in a row where overall handle and revenue for sports betting in the state has fallen.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board figures show that February’s handle came in at $554 million, reflecting a drop of more than 14 percent compared to the $646.5 handle in January. It is also the lowest total handle seen in Nevada since August last year.

Blamed on a Range of Factors

The drop in handle and revenue in Nevada for February was attributed to a range of factors.

Officials said that while the state did very well compare to many other states when it came to Super Bowl wagers, it was still much lower than the amount wagered on the Super Bowl last year, which was just before the first wave of the pandemic swept the nation.

Another factor that was blamed for the drop in Nevada’s revenue and handle was the shorter betting month, with February having just 28 days of betting compared to the 31 days of January. Some also firmly believe that the setup pf the state’s mobile sports betting market has heavily impacted the figures, with Nevada still requiring people to register in person for mobile betting.

Of course, the global pandemic has also been taken into consideration when it comes to the figures for February. While restrictions are now starting to be eased in Nevada, the start of the year saw strict measures and capacity limits still in place at sports betting venues and casinos. One official stated:

The pandemic has changed the whole ball game, too. People are slowly getting back to traveling to Vegas. As long as tourism comes back, things should be just fine.

In addition to overall handle seeing a decline in February, sports betting revenue also experienced a sharp drop. In fact, the $31.8 million in revenue for February reflected a significant drop of more than 39 percent compared to January’s revenue of $52.4 million.

The Silver Lining

Despite the bleak numbers, there is a silver lining for Nevada in relation to the recently released figures. Officials confirmed that although there was a month-on-month decline, sports betting handle had experienced a year-on-year increase.

The $554 million taken this February was up by 12.7 percent from the $491.7 million from last February, which was before the first wave of the pandemic. However, revenue for this February actually declined compared to last February, with a year-on-year drop of over 16 percent.

The good news is that the state has managed to hold on to its number two position for sports betting, with only New Jersey soaring ahead and maintaining the top spot. Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana are still behind the Silver State despite the decline.