Mississippi casinos reported significant gaming revenue gains in August, the first month of legal sports wagering in the state.

Figures released this week by the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) show the state’s commercial casinos generated combined gaming revenue of $181.7m in August, a 7.5% improvement over the same month last year. (The numbers don’t include the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ three casinos.)

In geographic terms, the dominant coastal casino segment improved 10.5% to $108.7m, while the northern segment rose 3.3% to $49.6m and the central segment gained 3% to $23.3m.

August was the first month of legal sports wagering at Mississippi casinos, and the qualifying venues reported handling $6.3m worth of wagers last month. For the record, this is $3.5m less than the handle figure the MGC issued earlier this month, although that figure included the first three days of September (and the first weekend of NFL action).