Futures Payouts Put Drag On July Sportsbook Revenue In Nevada
Winning futures tickets put a notable dent in Nevada sportsbook revenue for July, as the state’s gaming control board reported $25.3 million in adjusted gross winnings for the month.
Overall, the house paid out $3.6 million above the combined $39.2 million handle from football, basketball, and hockey bettors in the Silver State. Payouts in basketball were $2.1 million above the $34.4 million worth of wagers made in July, while the public came out $782,000 ahead on $3.1 million in football bets.
After absorbing a $6.6 million hit in June in hockey wagers after the hometown Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup title, the payouts in July were a more manageable $694,000 after $1.7 million handle was generated. Since the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) started breaking out hockey totals in 2020, the combined amount of monthly losses totaled less than $5.1 million prior to June.
Overall handle in July was $408 million, down just 2.7% from the same month last year. Despite the payouts, year-over-year revenue was up 55.7%, as the 6.2% hold was 2.3 percentage points higher. The state received $1.7 million in taxes from sports wagering for July, lifting the total for the 2023 calendar year above $15.7 million.
Nevada sportsbooks also surpassed $1.9 billion in revenue generated during the post-PASPA era.
Books fare well in baseball and “others”
Among the six categories the NGCB provides handle and revenue breakouts for, only baseball and the catch-all “others” category — which includes tennis, soccer, golf, auto racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts — provided revenue for sportsbooks.
Baseball accounted for nearly two-thirds of the July handle at $269.7 million, and sportsbooks fashioned a 7.4% hold to come approximately $16,000 shy of $20 million in revenue. The winnings were an all-time high in the post-PASPA era, surpassing the $19.1 million claimed in July 2022, while the 7.4% win rate was the highest for baseball wagering since an 8.4% mark in July 2021.
The “others” provided $8.8 million in sportsbook revenue, with the $100.9 million handle marking the first time post-PASPA that the total reached nine figures. The house has fared much better in this category in 2023, with its 7.9% combined hold more than two percentage points higher than the 5.7% crafted in 2022. The $42.7 million in revenue from those wagers in the first seven months of the year is 54.1% higher than the comparable period in 2022.
For the third time in four months, the public eked out a small win in parlay wagers, taking home $7,000 above the $52,830 wagered in July. The house still has a staggering 38.6% hold on those plays this year, but the $5 million handle for the year pales in comparison to other large-market states that make such numbers available. Illinois sportsbooks have accepted $1.5 billion in such wagers in 2023, and New Jersey operators are not far behind at $1.4 billion.
YTD revenue rises despite drop in handle
The $4.4 billion-plus handle through the first seven months of 2023 is down 7.5% compared to 2022. Revenue, though, is up 11.1% to $232.8 million in that span because the 5.2% hold — still below the 7% industry standard — is up nearly nine-tenths of a percentage point.
By Nevada standards, mobile operators had a good month, as the 5.2% hold was the highest for online wagers since a 5.6% win rate last September. Mobile sportsbooks reaped $13.8 million in winnings from $268.2 million handle, while the Silver State’s brick-and-mortar books collected $11.4 million on $139.8 million worth of wagers for a solid 8.2% hold.
Despite accounting for only 35.6% of the state’s handle this year, Nevada’s retail books have claimed more than half the overall sports betting revenue. Brick-and-mortar venues have accounted for $118.3 million in revenue with a 7.5% hold, while their mobile counterparts have claimed $114.5 million with a 4% win rate.
