NEVADA REGAINED THE US BETTING CROWN IN JUNE

NEVADANJSportsbook Editor

Nevada has regained its US sports betting crown. Figures just released by its Gaming Control Board show that it out-performed New Jersey in June.

Its betting intake also gave the long-time gambling capitol of North America a record for the month in question.

Nevada’s sports betting handle of $322 million was around $30 million up on the previous month.  Against this, the Garden State’s bet intake of $273 million was $45 million down on May’s figures.

This was contrary to expectations following May’s sportsbook results. High-flying New Jersey’s total handle and revenue both exceeded Nevada’s for the first time

And this came after being in the sports betting business for just one year. Nevada, on the other hand, has been in it for decades.

Unlike New Jersey, It was never one of the many states where sports betting had been prohibited for some 30 years by PASPA.

New Jersey was fastest out of its blocks when the PASPA act was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 2018. This was largely because of its provision for online betting. More than 80% of its $3.2 June 2018 to June 2019 handle came in online, mostly via mobile phones.

The Wire Act limits online betting to residents and visitors within the state. Bets may not legally be made from outside state lines.

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Some Nevada observers feared NJ’s bigger population

Some leading Nevada gaming observers feared that with its 9.2 million people its handle would continue to top Nevada’s for some time.  The Silver State’s population is 3.3 million.

Staying on top hasn’t happened, though – and the operators of its 15 sportsbooks and dozen casinos will be wondering why.

One Nevada opinion is that out west there is much less competition from neighboring states. For instance, sports betting legislation in US economic giant California has stalled. Texas is still without it and New Mexico’s launch will not have troubled Las Vegas over-much.

Competition for New Jersey, meanwhile, is heating up. Populous Philadelphia now also has online betting and the even greater population of New York has casino betting with mobile betting likely to follow.

June is out-of-season for NFL football, NBA basketball, and NHL hockey. It is no surprise, then, that MLB baseball was the single biggest sports attraction for Nevada punters in June.

Nevada’s MLB haul in handle of $208.7 million was 10.5% up on its $188.92 million in June last year.

Despite its increase in bets taken, however, the Nevada books made less revenue year-on-year. The $16.58 million retained was 1% down on the June 2018 figure of $20.26 million.

Football betting was its biggest loser.  Silver State NFL punters were $637,000 up on Nevada’s 198 licensed sportsbooks last month.

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