In December, Mississippi’s sportsbooks saw a decline in revenue despite an increase in handle.
According to figures from the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC), sports betting revenue in December dropped to $3.5m, its lowest figure since August despite betting handle increasing to $49.1m.
December’s figures also showed a significant year-on-year decrease from the $6.2m generated in December 2018.
Breaking down the figures
The MGC places Mississippi’s casino sportsbooks into three different categories based on their location – coastal, central and northern.
Mississippi’s coastal casinos continued to be the most popular venues among bettors. The figures show that sports betting handle in the region totalled $30.5m with sportsbooks holding onto $1.6m in revenue. When compared to figures from December 2018, sports betting handle for the region was up by 11% while revenue saw a 56% decline.
Casinos in the central region processed $6.1m and managed to generate $1.2m in revenue. Both figures represent an increase on 2018’s figures with handle up by 13% and revenue up 27%.
Mississippi’s northern casino sportsbooks came in third place after bettors wagered $12.5m and the sportsbooks held on to just $696,638.
Football dominates the market
Football continued to be the most popular sports to bet on in Mississippi last month. Bettors wagered $28.7m on the sport and in turn, sportsbooks generated $857,590 in revenue from football betting.
Basketball was the second most popular sport to bet on, with residents wagering $13.5m on basketball games. Although football was more popular to bet on, basketball betting generated $1.2m in revenue making it a much more profitable sport for the bookies.
Parlay cards were the third most popular betting market amongst bettors with $5.5m wagered on them. However, parlay cards were the biggest revenue driver for sportsbook in December with sportsbooks holding onto $1.3m.
Players in the state placed just over $1m on other sporting events of which the casinos held onto $160,110.
