Nevada sportsbooks set new revenue, betting handle records

Nevada casino sportsbooks enjoyed record betting volume and revenue in 2017 on the back of soaring football and basketball wagers.

Figures released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB) show the states’ casinos generated revenue of $960.4m in December, up less than 1% from December 2016’s result. The gains came despite Las Vegas Strip casino revenue falling 3.25% to $571.5m.

Statewide slots revenue was up 5.9% to $579.7m, while games & table revenue fell 6.9% to $380.6m. Baccarat topped the individual table game revenue chart with $120.4m, but this represented a 30.3% year-on-year decline. By contrast, blackjack improved 11.7% to $100.3m, while craps ($32.2m, -8.7%) and roulette ($30.1m, +15%) had a mixed month.

Shifting to the sportsbooks, overall revenue shot up 81.3% year-on-year to $34.5m in December, a significant turnaround from November’s $9.8m, which suffered from the worst baseball month on record.