Figures released by the Mississippi Gaming Commission show that basketball betting provided a significant boost to Mississippi’s sportsbooks in March.
According to the figures, Mississippi’s sportsbooks took a total of $32.4m in sports wagers last month, a significant increase on February’s handle of $25.1m.
In terms of revenue sportsbooks in the state generated about $4.9m, a significant increase on the $2.7m Mississippi’s bookies posted in February.
Breaking down the figures
Remember, the state gaming commission categorizes the state’s casinos by region: central, coastal and northern.
The state’s coastal sportsbooks were the highest performing in the state. These sportsbooks took a combined total of $18.5m in wagers which generated a total of $2.5m in revenue.
Mississippi’s northern bookies were the second highest performing sportsbooks in the state. The northern sportsbooks took over $9.2m in bets and held onto more than $1.3m.
The central sportsbooks followed close behind with a combined handle of $4.7m and sports betting revenue of just over $1m.
Basketball reigns supreme
Basketball was the most popular sport to bet on in Mississippi and provided a significant boost to the state’s sportsbooks. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as last month was the first month where it was legal to bet on the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
Basketball accounted for $25m of the state’s total sports betting handle while also accounting for $3.4m of the state’s total sports betting revenue.
The second most popular form of betting in the state were parlay cards which residents wagered $4.4m on. The state’s sportsbooks generated $1m from parlays.
A total of $714,993 was wagered on baseball across the state. Bookies held onto $177,817 of this.
Other sports saw a sports betting handle of $2.4m in Mississippi, out of this, sportsbooks held on to just $236,891.
For an in-depth look at each state’s sports betting statistics check out our stats page.
