Nevada wrapped up a recording-breaking 2021 with a rocky finish in the month of December. Many of the state’s gaming industries metrics, such as GGR and betting handle, set new records monthly and yearly records in 2021. However, December’s sports betting revenue plummeted after an exceptional performance in November.
Sports betting handle in the Silver State totaled $1.015 billion in December. It marked the third consecutive mark that the handle has exceeded a billion dollars. Nevada is second only to New Jersey for the highest sports betting handle of any US state. Despite the success, the handle actually decreased over six percent from the previous month. A large part of the handle was made up of wagers from mobile bettors.
One area that significantly decreased was sports betting revenue. In November, Nevada gaming sports betting operators generated nearly $72 million in sports betting revenue. Last month, that total fell all the way to under $16 million. In total, sports betting revenue decreased nearly 78% from November to December.
Nevada Sports Betting Handle Tops $1 Billion Again
Gaming operators in Nevada reached a combined sports betting handle of $1.1 billion in October of 2021. That mark would prove to be the highest sports betting handle of the year. However, operators did exceed one billion dollars in sports betting handle in both November and December.
The majority of the sports betting handle appears to be generated from mobile betting platforms. According to the latest NGCB report, mobile betting accounted for $765 million of the handle. That works out to roughly 75.4% of the sports betting handle coming from mobile bettors. Unfortunately, the mobile betting handle also decreased from the previous month. In November, Nevada’s sportsbooks generated over $777 million in mobile betting handle.
Despite the slight decrease, mobile sportsbooks should still be optimistic about what 2022 will bring. So far, Nevada’s betting handle has been the second-largest of any US state. Even with New York legalizing mobile sports betting earlier this month, Nevada figures to be competing for one of the top spots. Nevada legislators approved remote registration options for certain types of gambling earlier this month. If regulators do the same for sports betting, it could provide a major boost to the betting handle.
Total Gaming Revenue Also Remains Steady
Nevada’s sports betting handle remained above the billion-dollar threshold, and so did its total gaming revenue. The Silver State pulled in a total of $1.15 billion in gaming revenue last month. That made December the 10th consecutive month of over $1 billion in monthly gaming revenue.
Gaming revenue decreased from November, but it is still sky high when compared to December of 2020. Last month’s total was 68.23% higher than the previous year’s mark. The Las Vegas Strip experienced the biggest bounce-back of any market, with a total increase of over 120% from December 2020.
Why Did Sports Betting Revenue Fall Off?
Both total gaming revenue and sports betting handle experienced a slight drop-off in December. However, Nevada gaming operators pulled in over $1 billion dollars in both categories. Sports betting revenue on the other hand fell off dramatically from the November total.
November’s sports betting revenue was unusually high. The nearly $72 million generated was an increase of almost 50% from October. December’s decline in revenue can largely be attributed to a regression to the mean.
A regression to its average monthly total accounts for much the difference. However, even by its own standards, Nevada sportsbooks had a bad month against bettors. A month where the bettors won more often compared to a month when the sportsbooks were king creates a shocking difference. The December total was the lowest in Nevada since August before the NFL regular season kicked off.
Conclusion
A record-breaking 2021 by Nevada’s gaming industry wrapped up somewhat anticlimactically. Nevada’s sports betting handle and total gaming revenue each eclipsed $1 billion once again. However, both totals came in under the revenue totals from November. Nevada’s sports betting revenue was hit especially hard, decreasing over 75% from the previous month.
Despite the bad month in sports betting revenue, Nevada’s sportsbooks should be set up for a strong performance in 2022. The billion-dollar totals for sports betting handle and total gaming revenue are second only to New Jersey. New York seems fit to compete with Nevada eventually, but it only has a handful of sportsbooks operating after its launch earlier this month.
