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Nevada’s 2020 Casino Gaming Revenue Hits a 24-Year Low
By Jeff Osienya Feb 02, 2021 IndustryThe Silver State’s gaming revenue tumbles to its lowest point in over 2 decades after the disastrous Coronavirus pandemic. Sports betting revenue also recorded massive declines to give New Jersey a strong lead as the number one sports betting US state.2020 was indeed a trying time for Nevada which has for a long time been hailed as the gambling capital of the USA. After a chaotic year of challenges posed by the pandemic, Nevada’s gaming revenue hit a record low, bringing in a total of $7.8 billion for the 2020 calendar year. On top of being 34.6% lower than 2019’s win which stood at $12.03 billion, last year’s revenue was the lowest annual haul that the state has recorded in its history since 1997.
The Silver State’s gaming regulator, the Nevada Gaming Control Board published its most recent industry report late last week, to offer insights on December’s performance and since it was the last month of the year, an annual overview was released as well. Nevada’s dismal performance for 2020 was sealed by December’s disappointing casino win of $683.7 million, to record a year-on-year slip of 35.4% and nearly $88 million less than what the state had brought in for November 2020. Furthermore, it was the worst full month total since the state reopened its gaming sector.
Like the entire 2020 financial year, December’s casino revenue was also one for the books and not in a good way. The haul for the month was the lowest ever recorded in Nevada’s history since August 1997 whereas the standalone revenue from the Vegas Strip was the worst that has been reported since December 1993. For the full 2020 financial year, the Las Vegas Strip won $3.73 billion, another annual record low since 1996.
Casino Gaming Revenue Breakdown
Slot machine revenue led the pack with a two-thirds majority to collect $5.42 billion for the state, which is 31.7% less than last year’s win. Overall, slot machine fans in the Silver State parted with $78.6 billion in wagers on all types of slot games, with about $44 billion of the total spent on multi-denominational slots. Penny Slots on the other hand collected a little over $24 billion in wagers. The remainder came from dollar and 25 cents slot machines
Looking at denomination-based revenue from the slots, Nevada’s multi-denomination slots in 2020 brought in 27.3% less revenue compared to 2019, after winning about $2.4 billion. As for penny slots, the decline was steeper at 32.8% year over year after collecting $2.35 billion. Revenue from one dollar and 25 cents slot machines also sunk significantly to bring in $365 million (-34.3%) and $143.7 (-49.1%) million respectively.
Slot machines aside, $19.09 billion was staked on table games, and in turn, generated revenue worth $2.46 billion. Under the table games category, blackjack 21 was the single largest contributor of revenue after collecting $643 million from $4.6 billion worth of stakes wagered. Nonetheless, the revenue was 42.2% less than 2019’s.
Baccarat followed blackjack after winning $604.3 from a total of $5.35 in stakes, recording a near-identical slump with twenty-one, at 42.5% compared to the previous year. Craps and roulette also collected less revenue year on year with $264.1 million (-37.8%) and $210.8 (43.5%) million respectively.
Sports Betting Couldn’t Save Nevada Either
Like the casino gaming vertical, sportsbooks in Nevada also had a harsh year. Sports bettors in the state parted with a total of $4.34 billion in bets last year, 18.4% less than the record-smashing $5.4 billion handle that was bested by New Jersey’s $6 billion 2020 handle. It was the first time in more than a decade that the state recorded a decline in this vertical.
From the sports bets, the Silver State won $262.8 million in revenue, which is 20.2% lower than last year’s proceeds. Besides, this figure is much less than New Jersey’s $398.5 million 2020 win, further cementing The Garden State’s position as the top dog in US sports betting.
Interestingly, 2020 was the first year that Nevada published an analysis of the performance of its online sports betting vertical. Per the report, online sports bets accounted for the lion’s share of the overall handle at $2.61 billion, which eventually generated a $117.6 million revenue.
Predictably, Football was the favorite sport for betters last year, after scoring $1.92 billion worth of wagers and generating a revenue of $172.7 million from the stakes. This was a 40% decline compared to the 2019 financial year. Basketball tailed football with a $1.17 billion handle which in turn attracted $56.3 million in revenue, which like football was down $40% year on year.
The baseball handle came in third after obtaining $518.7 million in wagers, translating into a $22.1 million revenue, 61.3% less than a year ago. This wasn’t too much of a shock given that last year’s Major League Baseball season was disrupted and it ended up being the shortest since 1878!
Nevada’s Recipe for 2020’s Poor Performance
Sure enough, the Covid-19 disruption was the biggest contributor to Nevada’s unpleasant revenue graph. There was a 78-day closure from 18th March through 4th June as a safety measure against virus infections and even after reopening, casinos were only allowed to take in a limited capacity. Until now, casinos in the Las Vegas Strip and elsewhere in the state are still serving patrons at 25% capacity.
The pandemic aside, the fact that Nevada doesn’t allow remote sports betting registration also took a toll on its sports betting performance. Operators in the state even resorted to solutions such as drive-through registrations but the move didn’t do much to salvage the situation. In the Silver State’s defense, however, its gaming sector is highly reliant on land-based operations, and thus, removing the in-person requirements could end up doing more harm than good.
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