Nevada has once again seen its sportsbook handle fall below that of New Jersey, with customers in the state wagering a total of $235.7m in July.
Total handle was down 3.6% year-on-year decline, though a significantly higher hold for July 2019 resulted in revenue growing strongly. Sportsbook revenue for the month was $10.5m, compared to $4.1m for the prior year.
Despite New Jersey reporting an 8.0% month-on-month decline in handle, its $251.4m total was still enough to surpass amounts wagered in Nevada for just the second time. New Jersey first beat Nevada – in terms of amounts wagered – in May, only to fall behind again in June.
Over the month baseball was the main source of revenue for Nevada’s sportsbooks, accounting for $8.6m of the state’s sports betting total. This was offset by losses from betting on basketball and football, of $2.1m and $182,000 respectively.
A further $64,000 in revenue came from parlay cards, with betting on other events making up the remaining $4.1m.
The growth in sports betting revenue came as gaming revenue across all verticals rose 2.8% year-on-year to $1.02bn. A marginal decline in table, counter and card games revenue (including sports betting) to $328.1m was offset by a 4.2% increase in slot revenue, to $695.9m.
The decline in table, counter and card games was largely a result of falling revenue from blackjack (down 6.6% to $87.4m) and baccarat (down 23.7% to $77.1m). This was partially mitigated by higher craps revenue (up 12.1% at $39.3m) and from card games, for which revenue almost doubled year-on-year to $22.2m.
Slot growth, meanwhile, was powered by a 9.2% increase in revenue from 1 cent machines, to $307.1m.
Clark County, including Las Vegas, was the main source of revenue, accounting for $860.4m, or 84.0%, of the state’s monthly total. This represented a 2.5% improvement on the prior year. The Las Vegas Strip itself was responsible for $541.8m of the Clark County total.