Nevada’s latest sports betting figures highlight the issue with the state’s in-person sports betting registration requirements.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s (NGCB) latest figures, bettors in the state wagered $78.2m on sports in June, representing a 75.9% year-on-year decrease in handle.
In addition to the drop in handle, sportsbooks in the state made a loss of $483,000, marking the state’s first loss on sports betting since July 2013.
Online and mobile betting accounted for $61.7m of the state’s handle in June, while the remaining handle was bet in-person at casino sportsbooks. Mobile betting activity generated $2.3m in sports betting revenue.
The loss can be attributed to sportsbooks paying out winning football bets made in previous months, such as bets on the NFL Draft in April.
What did people bet on?
Although major sports have yet to make a return, betting activity saw some growth in June.
According to the state report, bettors in the state wagered $61.6m on “other” sporting events. The “other” category includes all sports other than baseball, basketball, football and hockey.
This is likely to change in July’s report with the launch of MLB’s regular season at the end of the month. July includes more than a weeks’ worth of MLB games and eight NBA games which may bring sports bettors back.
Nevada vs other states
Other the last three months sports betting figures have varied from state to state, as each jurisdiction has taken a different approach to sports betting.
Through April, May and June, Nevada’s betting handle amounted to $134.4m, while revenue amounted to just $2.2m. This is significantly lower than New Jersey’s and Pennsylvania’s figures for the last three months.
New Jersey’s betting handle amounted to $337.4m over the last three months, with $165m being wagered in June alone.
Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks processed $212.5m in sports bets over the three-month period with $89m being wagered last month.
States with legal betting have had to contend with a shortage of sporting events and the closure of land-based casino sportsbooks during coronavirus pandemic. However, not all of Nevada’s sportsbook operators continued to accept online bets during the coronavirus shutdown.
In addition to this, Nevada’s betting regulations require people to create their online betting accounts in-person at one of the state’s casinos. As each casino in the state has had to temporarily close their doors and begin a phased reopening, potential bettors were unable to create online accounts during the Q2 of 2020.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania both allow potential bettors to register their sports betting accounts remotely without having to visit one of the state’s casino sportsbooks.
