Nevada Sports Betting Handle Surpasses $600M in January
Contents
January Numbers
January saw a $646 million in betting handle for 2021. This was up 9.9% from December, and the mobile betting handle was $363 million, only up 3.3%. Overall revenue was up 29.1% from December. Compared to last January it was up 159%. Nevada also saw $293 million wagered on basketball, showing NBA is a clear number two in the current sports going on, and hockey was at 23.9 million. However, Nevada was not the highest handle among the legalized states, as New Jersey had a whopping $958 million and has been betting them out each month dating back to last January. The difference continues to grow. Even Pennsylvania is closing in on Nevada, with Colorado and Illinois seeing massive increases in their revenue and handles. Nevada still holds a bulk of the market, but until mobile betting registration becomes easier, we should see the other states post big numbers and potentially surpass Nevada.
Nevada Finishes First In Super Bowl Betting
We saw quite a few states have legalized sports betting before the Super Bowl and the start of the 2021-22 season is already a deadline for many operators who want to join this year. Nevada has crushed in Super Bowl betting, and that didn’t change in 2021. Over 184 sportsbooks in Nevada took on $136.1 million. Last Super Bowl, the handle sat at $154.7 million. The drop-off from last season was due to capacity limits at the casinos in addition to the struggling economy from the pandemic. Vegas continues to be a hot spot during the Super Bowl time, so this isn’t a surprise, and we should expect Nevada to continue to be the leader in Super Bowl betting, but other states are beginning to close in.
Why Nevada Mobile Handles Could Be Higher
Other states are beginning to near Nevada in revenue and handles over the last few months. Mobile betting is allowed within the state of Nevada, but there is a twist. Instead of registering through your desktop or mobile, you need to be on-site to register a new mobile account. This seems to be a turn-off for some, especially for those who are not looking to go to a casino in the middle of a pandemic. Those visiting the state also can’t just cross lines and create an account, which means there are more users lost. In states like New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado, you can simply register from your phone, and these states are seeing more mobile success in comparison to Nevada. The mobile handle in January for Nevada was only 56.3%. Other states saw over 80%.
