Sports betting handle and revenue in the state of Mississippi continued its decline in May.
According to figures from the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC), sportsbooks in the Magnolia State took a combined total of $17.4m in sports wagers last month, a slight decrease on the $19.1m wagered in April.
Revenue also took a hit with bookies holding on to just under $1.2m, a 42.1% decrease on the $2m in revenue generated in April.
Breaking down Mississippi’s figures
The MGC places Mississippi’s casinos into three different categories based on their location, these are coastal, central and northern.
Mississippi’s coastal sportsbooks continued to post the highest figures in the state. The coastal bookies took a combined total of $10.9m in sports wagers which generated $626,283 in taxable revenue.
The state’s central sportsbooks came in at second after taking $2.5m in sports wagers and holding onto $305,494.
Although the state’s northern sportsbooks posted a handle of just under $4m, these bookies only generated $260,189 in revenue, the lowest revenue in the state last month.
Baseball dethrones basketball
Looking closer at the commission’s figures, the most popular sport amongst bettors in May was baseball.
Punters in the state wagered a combined total of $8.2m on baseball events which managed to generate $362,138 in revenue for bookies across the state.
Basketball, which has been the most popular sport in the state for several months now, was the second most popular sport amongst punters in May.
Bookies in the state took a combined total of $5.7m in basketball wagers and held onto $452,600.
Parlay wagers also fared well in May with punters wagering just over $2.2m on parlays and bookies holding onto $332,254.
Punters wagered just under $1.2m on other sporting events translating into $46,536 in revenue for bookies.
For an in-depth look at each state’s sports betting statistics visit the BettingUS stats page.
