Nevada Sports Betting Handle Down Year-Over-Year Again in May 2024

Nevada continued a troubling trend of year-over-year declines in overall sports betting activity in May. Along the way, it has seen its position as a top-five U.S. legal sports betting jurisdiction vanish as our best sportsbooks continue to prosper nationwide.

For the first time ever, the neighboring Arizona sports betting market produced a higher monthly handle than the Silver State in April, bumping Nevada out of the top five. In May, a host of states have already reported better overall sports wagering numbers than Nevada, currently ranking sixth in terms of overall sports betting handle for the month. 

New York sports betting, New Jersey sports betting, Pennsylvania sports betting, Massachusetts sports betting, and North Carolina sports betting have already posted higher handles than Nevada for May.

With juggernaut markets like Illinois sports betting and Ohio sports betting, along with reliable Top-10 scenes like the Colorado sports betting, Virginia sports betting, and Arizona still to report, there is a realistic chance that, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board May Revenue Report figures,  the “grand-daddy of U.S. legal sports betting” Nevada could even fall out of the top-10 jurisdictions.

$515.1 million May handle

Nevada’s best sportsbooks combined to accept $515.1 million in wagers in May, adding to the downward trend for the sports betting industry in the Silver State. 

May’s total represents a 2.3% year-over-year drop from the $527.2 million in May 2023 and is a 9.4% month-over-month decline from the $569.3 million reported in April.

Nevada has accepted a total of $3.4 billion so far this year, which is 5.3% less than in the first five months of 2023.

May represented the third straight month of year-over-year handle declines, which is why the year-to-date handle has decreased.

The use of Nevada sports betting apps remained underwhelming in May compared to the 97% that most of the country's top-five legal sports betting jurisdictions experienced. Nevada sports betting sites were responsible for 68.2% of May’s overall handle, bringing in $351.4 million in wagers for the month.

Better news on revenues

While the handle news isn’t flattering, monthly revenues are different. Nevada sportsbooks saw a double-digit percentage increase in revenues month-over-month and year-over-year in May.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, $36 million in sports betting revenues were reported in May. This is a 19.8% year-over-year increase from nearly $30.1 million in May 2023 and a slightly better month-over-month percentage jump from nearly $30.8 million in April.

So far this year, despite the dip in the year-to-date handle, revenues for the five months are up 5.6% to $209.2 million.

Tax revenues reached $2.4 million from adjusted gross revenue in the state, taking the year-to-date total to $14.1 million in tax contributions - about $755K ahead of last year’s pace.

Playoff action mitigates Super Bowl losses

The fallout from the Super Bowl in February still affects the bottom line of Nevada sports betting apps and the state’s retail outlets. Despite the NFL Betting season being long over, people are still cashing winning tickets on the biggest game of the year to the tune of $3.4 million in May. 

The Nevada sports betting scene can thank playoff action in both the NBA and NHL for the respectable revenue month of May. NBA betting generated $17.2 million in revenues, a 43.7% year-over-year increase. This is thanks to a $183.8 million handle and a 9.3% hold rate, which is over two percent higher than the state’s overall win rate of 6.99%.

Hockey’s revenues spiked due to $42.5 million in wagering action during May. A near 8% win rate generated $3.4 million in revenue for the month.

Baseball betting chipped in with $11.1 million in revenues off a 5.5% hold, and “other sports,” consisting of tennis, MMA, soccer, golf, and auto racing, brought in $7.8 million in profits off of a 9% hold in May.