The state of Nevada processed the most sports wagers out of every state with legal betting in 2019.
According to figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), sports bettors in the state of Nevada wagered $5.32bn on sporting events in 2019, up 6.2% on 2018’s total betting handle.
Sports betting revenue also hit $329.1m, a new record for the state that was up 9.3% from 2018’s revenue.
According to figures from UNLV, this is the 10th straight annual handle record set by the Silver State and the second time handle passed $5bn.
For the month of December, sports betting handle in Nevada hit $571.1m and sportsbooks generated $36.3m in betting revenue.
Breaking down the figures
Looking closer at the figures, football was the most popular sport to bet on in Nevada after bettors wagered $1.9bn on the sport in 2019. However, the number of bets placed on the Super Bowl fell for the first time in 10 years with Nevada bookies handling $146m in Super Bowl bets, down from $158m in 2018.
Basketball was the second most popular sport to bet on with $1.7bn in betting handle. Baseball came in at third place with $1.1bn being wagered on the sport.
Other sports accounted for $594.8m of the state’s handle, while bettors wagered$50.1m on parlay bets.
Will Nevada be dethroned next year?
It has been just under two years since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018 and now Nevada is facing competition from several other states that offer sports betting.
Based on the latest figures from New Jersey it is entirely possible that the Garden State could overtake Nevada as the US sports betting handle leader. In 2019, New Jersey’s betting handle hit $4.9bn which is an incredibly high figure for a market that has yet to hit its ceiling.
In New Jersey, 83.7% of the state’s total betting handle came from online and mobile sports betting platforms.
Nevada to report mobile betting share next month
Although mobile sports betting came to Nevada in 2010, the state’s regulator has never shown the breakdown between land-based and mobile betting. However, that’s going to change starting next month after Michael Lawton, an NGCB senior research analyst, confirmed that the regulator will display the mobile betting figures separate from land-based starting with next month’s report.
This will provide a much clearer picture of how Nevada’s sports betting industry stacks up against other markets such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
