Figures released by the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) show that sportsbooks in the state saw a significant drop in sports betting revenue and handle in April.
According to the figures, a total of $19.1m was wagered on sporting events in April, a massive drop from the $32.4m wagered in March.
Mississippi‘s sportsbooks generated a combined revenue of just over $2m in April, a slight dip from the $4.9m revenue generated in March.
Although handle and revenue were down for April, it is important to consider that the wagers on the NCAA March Madness tournament gave sports betting handle a massive boost the month prior. On top of this, April is a much slower month, with fewer major sporting events to bet on.
Breaking down the figures
Remember, the MGC categorizes the casinos in the state by the regions they are located in, these regions are central, coastal and northern.
Mississippi’s coastal sportsbooks were the highest performing bookies in the state taking $11.8m in wagers and generating $1.1m in taxable revenue.
The state’s northern sportsbooks followed close behind taking $4.5m in bets and holding onto $553,447.
Sportsbooks in the central region took $2.8m in wagers and generated just $381,975 in taxable revenue.
Basketball continues to dominate
Looking even closer at Mississippi’s figures, basketball was the most popular sport to bet on in April, with punters in the state wagering over $9.2m on basketball events. On basketball wagers, sportsbooks in the state held onto just $544,342.
Baseball was second most popular sport to bet on in Mississippi last month with sportsbooks taking $5.3m in bets. On these baseball bets, bookies in the state held onto $537,6965.
A mere $2,475 was wagered on football at sportsbooks in the state. The bookies in Mississippi made a loss of $13,776 on football bets.
Sportsbooks processed $2.7m in parlay bets and managed to hold on to $554,840.
Bookies in the state took $1.8m in bets on other sporting events which generated $434,728 in taxable revenue.
Elsewhere in the US
Several other states saw a drop in sports betting handle and revenue in April. As previously mentioned, this can be attributed to an increase in wagers thanks to March Madness betting and a lack of major league sporting events in April.
Sportsbooks in Delaware saw a significant dip in April with punters wagering $6m on sporting events and bookies holding on to just $615,772.
New Jersey’s sportsbooks took more than $313m in sports bets in April and held onto $21m. For the fourth consecutive month, more than 80% of New Jersey’s wagers were placed using online and mobile devices, highlighting the importance of an online sports betting component.
For an in-depth look at each state’s sports betting statistics check out our stats page.
