Sports betting in Nevada soared to new heights for October, an outcome that continues to edge sportsbook in the USA much closer to a total countrywide handle of almost $3 billion – a new milestone for America’s regulated sports betting industry. Based on the latest report published by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), bettors in the Silver State parted with $659.9 million in wagers in October, to set a new record for the state.
With Nevada’s October haul, the national handle for states that have reported their numbers has comfortably crossed the $2.5 billion mark and the figure is expected to hit the $3 billion high-water after Illinois and Colorado share their October results. Given that the two sports betting powerhouses, (Illinois and Colorado) collected a combined total of over $512 million from sports wagers last month, the moment of shattering the $3 billion glass ceiling is nigh. Moreover, since the majority of states in the country have bested their September numbers, the same trend is expected for the two states.
Which Was the Favorite Sport for October in Nevada?
As has been the case practically every other month, Football, both NFL and Collegiate was the most popular sport for Nevada bettors in October, making up a total of $441.1 million of the total haul for the month. This was nearly double the $221.9 million that was wagered on the sport a month before, marking a tremendous surge for football betting in the state as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
Baseball which was in its final full month of the regular season came in second with $110.7 million in wagers, down from the $147.3 million that bettors spent for the previous month. Basketball wagers also went down in October after a haul of $37.1 million, compared to September’s handle worth $114.8 million for the sport. Parlay cards and Hockey were also favorite choices for bettors in the Silver State, bringing in a handle of 9.68 million and over $508K respectively, whereas the ‘others’ sports category made up the remainder of $60.84 million of the overall handle.
Most bettors placed their wagers via mobile devices and as a result, 57.1% of the total handle, at $376.8 million came from mobile sports betting, which was a slight improvement from September’s activity, when 54.9% of the total handle came from mobile betting.
For revenue, sportsbooks in Nevada also recorded some substantial wins, after collecting $42.39 million from sports, a figure that’s 28.9% higher than that of September, but still 11.5% less year on year. The Silver State itself on the other hand collected a total of $2.7 million for its tax coffers from October’s sports betting activity.
A Record-Breaking Month for USA Sports Betting Heavyweights
The Silver State’s October’s handle blew past the initial $614 million that it had won nearly a year ago in November 2019 to seize the top spot for highest monthly handle in the USA, before New Jersey shattered the record recently in August with a $668 million haul.
Nevada’s October’s figures are up by about 14.7% compared to the $575.1 million that the state racked up for September and 21% higher year on year. As impressive as the $614 million handle is, however, it is still far from what New Jersey brought in for the same month, with a record-smashing handle worth $803 million to cement its number one position for the highest monthly handle.
So, with New Jersey at the top, Nevada comes in second while Pennsylvania follows closely with a handle of over $525.8 million to round up the top 3 sports betting leviathans in the USA. It’s also worth noting that of late, Pennsylvania has been a growing threat to Nevada, and some analysts project that it could soon unseat the Silver State as the second biggest market thanks to a robust mobile betting system that accepts remote registrations, which isn’t the case for the latter. Like New Jersey, the Keystone State has also surpassed its record sports betting handle for the last three months back-to-back.
.jpg.5d2a42bf507d3f4d87d62047fd33febf.jpg)