Mississippi’s sports betting market bounced back in August after a weak July, as bettors placed $19.9m in sports wagers in August, up 48.5% month-on-month.
The rise compared to July was largely fuelled by the start of the college football season and the approach of the NFL, as football bets surpassed $6m, up 792% month-on-month and 152% year-on-year and revenue totaled $1.8m. Handle was up 347% year-on-year compared to August 2018, the month that legal betting was introduced in Mississippi.
The majority of money wagered in the state – which only allows betting in casinos – again came from properties in the coastal region to the South of the state, where $13m was wagered and casinos took in $1.8m in revenue. At 65.4% the proportion of bets coming from the Coastal region drastically increased from July’s 54%, as the handle in the state increased 50.2% while revenue more than tripled.
The Northern region of the state handled $4.5m worth of bets and took in $617,582 in revenue. Parlay cards were especially popular in the Northern region, with $1.4m wagered on parlay bets, which made $304,728 in revenue, more revenue than any individual sport. The region saw a 31% increase in handle and a 109.1% increase in revenue.
The Central region, including the state’s largest city of Jackson, handled $2.4m in bets and took in $435,785 in revenue, increases of 80.4% and 129.8% respectively.
Despite the drastic rise in football revenue, baseball remained the sport with the largest handle in every region, totaling $9.3m in handle.
However, with many football bets placed in August set to pay out in September, it took in more revenue than any other sport, thanks to a 30.2% win percentage.
$3.5m was wagered on sports parlay cards and $383,893 was wagered on basketball, contributing $640,200 and $25,268 respectively.