Figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) show that Nevada’s sportsbooks took over $596.8m in sports wagers in March.
Not only is this an increase on February’s sports betting handle of $458m, but it is a new record for the total amount bet on sports in the state in a single month. This also represents a 14.4% year-on-year increase in the amount wagered on sports in March.
In terms of revenue, sportsbooks in the state generated a more than $32.5m, a slight decrease on February’s revenue of $35.8m.
Basketball betting drives March figures
The NGCB’s figures show that basketball was the most popular sport to bet on in March.
Nevada’s sportsbooks took over $495m in basketball bets, translating to 83% of the total sports wagers placed in the state. Out of this, sportsbooks held onto more than $32.5m.
This can be attributed to the NCAA college basketball tournament, March Madness, which boosted sports betting figures across the nation.
Looking closer at the figures, baseball betting generated $3.7m in revenue for sportsbooks. Parlay cards generated $223,000 in revenue and $5.8m was generated from pari-mutuel bets and other wagers.
Football bets let Nevada down
Despite strong revenue figures, football bets dragged sportsbook figures down in March.
Sportsbooks in Nevada posted a loss of $12.2m on football future wagers in March.
Nevada’s sportsbooks have a history of loosing on football bets in March thanks to Super Bowl future bets placed the month prior.
In March 2018, sportsbooks lost $11m on football bets and in March 2017 bookies lost $13m on football bets.
For an in-depth look at each state’s sports betting statistics check out our stats page.
