Nevada Kicked-Off 2020 with $20 Million In Sports Betting Revenue
Published March 19, 2020 by Sol FH
January marks a huge increase in sports gambling revenue year over year from the same month. However, COVID-19 could affect things negatively.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) recently reported that revenues from sports betting in the state increased by a whopping 36 percent increase to US$20.2 million in January 2020.
The NGCP has stated that players spent a stunning total of US$502.5 million during the month, up 1.1% from last year but down slightly from the revenue generated in December of US$571.2. December is usually a big month for gambling due to holidays, but 2020 is expected to slow down due to limited travel and the potential cancellation of sports events, due to fears of the Coronavirus.
That being said, sports betting revenues continue to grow and online betting is getting more popular than ever. There are numerous US states now examining legislature that would effectively legalize and regulate iGaming in their states, which will spur new tax revenues and decrease organized crime, which has been the case in jurisdictions where it is legal.
A new portion of the revenue recorded in January 2020 was due to the NGCB finally reporting on mobile revenue, which contributed US$11.2 million.
Unsurprisingly, NBA betting was the main source of Vegas' income with the licensed operators bringing in US$12.5 million. The end of the NFL season and the Super Bowl were also drivers of growth, but there were some very big player wins surrounding the Super Bowl which operators were required to payout.
The NHL was able to garner US$1.4 million for the operators, while horse racing and other racebooks made a total of $2.7 million.
Meanwhile, ice hockey betting generated $1.4m for operators and pari-mutuel racebooks for horse racing brought in a total of $2.7m.
Operators struck out on baseball revenue as punters hit big and caused operators a loss of US$1.9 million.
Nevada was of the first US-states to offer legal online and mobile gambling and with more and more people staying at home, these formats of wagering should grow over the course of the year.
COVID-19 Concerns
With the spread of the Coronavirus and the shutdown of Las Vegas casinos, the situation is already being affected negatively - it remains to be seen what impact this will have.
