Nevada Shatters Sports Betting Record
Nevada used to be the King when it came to legal sports betting in the United States, but that is no longer the case. Nevada did a pretty big thing in the month of October, and shattered the sports betting record for the state in the process.
The total sports betting handle in October was $1.1 billion, making Nevada just the second state to ever post a monthly handle of $1 billion. Even though a major jump from September was expected, it was a shock to see Nevada go over this mark.
September saw a total handle of more than $786.5 million, but that was nearly 40 percent less than what came in during October. Mobile betting also shattered a record as the online handle was more than $704 million.
The mobile handle made up nearly 64 percent of the total, and that is atypical for the United States market. Nevada still has in-person registration in place which hurts the overall growth of the market.
Not only did Nevada see serious growth from the month of September, but the state also experienced plenty of growth in the last 12 months. The October 2020 handle was $659.9 million, or 67 percent lower than what occurred this year.
Football Carries the Handle
Football has been carrying the Nevada sports betting industry since preseason began in August, but betting on that sport saw massive growth as well. The total handle when it came to the NFL was $729.3 million, a jump from the $477.7 million that was wagered in September.
Nevada sportsbooks also had other sports to feature in October as well as all four of the major professional sports were in action. Baseball brought in more than $121 million in wagers as the sport was conducting its postseason in October.
The NBA and NHL also kicked things off in October, but each sport did not play for an entire month. The total basketball handle was $111 million, while betting on the NHL accounted for $42.9 million in wagers.
New Jersey Still on Top
Despite the record-setting month for Nevada, New Jersey is still the clear sports betting leader. Not only did New Jersey go over the $1 billion mark for the second straight month, but that state set a record of $1.3 billion in October.
Nevada is starting to close the gap, and there is reason to believe that it could eventually end up back on top. When New York launches online sports betting at some point in 2022, it should take away some of the betting action from New Jersey.
Pennsylvania and Illinois are the next two states on the list, and they will now be trying to join the exclusive $1 billion club.
