The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported on Tuesday $59.3 million in sports betting revenue for October, more than double last year as operators had far better outcomes when it came to wagering on football.
Total revenue was up 105% as October’s figure snuck into the bottom of the top 10 in the post-PASPA era for the Silver State dating back to June 2018. The 7.4% win rate attained statewide was an increase of nearly 3.8 percentage points from last year. Handle was practically flat at $798.2 million, up 0.4% from 12 months ago and 0.8% from September.
The first four months of Fiscal Year 2025-26 have been good to Nevada sportsbooks. Their collective $193.5 million in revenue is up 20.5% versus the same period last year and easily outpaces the 3% bump in handle to $2.46 billion. The state saw an inflow of $4 million into its coffers from sports wagering for the month, and the $13.1 million in receipts this fiscal year is running $2.2 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Football revenue more evenly distributed
Last year, the house got whiplash when it came to football revenue the first two months of the season. The $55.8 million claimed in September 2024 was the second-highest total of any month in the post-PASPA era, but it was followed by a paltry $9.7 million last October as the football hold plunged from 11.5% to 2%.
The combined September-October revenue of $65.8 million this year is only $414,000 more than 2024, but operators this October collected $33 million as they attained a 6.8% win rate against $483.1 million handle.
The catch-all “other” category, which includes golf, soccer, tennis, table tennis, boxing, and MMA in Nevada, provided the second-largest source of revenue for the month at $8.3 million. That was up 47.5% from last year as the 8.4% hold was up two percentage points.
Basketball and baseball provided a combined $12.2 million in sportsbook winnings, with the $5.7 million claimed for baseball up 31.2%. There may have been some bullish futures wagering on the Vegas Golden Knights for the NHL season: The $4.2 million in hockey revenue represented a 73.3% surge from last year despite a 13.6% decline in wagering to $33.1 million.
Retail revenue jumps despite drop in handle
The $16.4 million won by Nevada’s brick-and-mortar sportsbooks was a 61.4% year-over-year improvement, but retail handle continued a year-long trend of monthly declines. The $241.9 million wagered in October was down 11.8%.
The $1.87 billion bet in person through the first 10 months of the year is off 13.8% compared to last year, but improved operator performance has softened that blow to a degree. The $150.5 million in revenue is down by only 9.8% as the 8%-plus hold is currently tracking more than one-third of a percentage point higher.
The $556.2 million mobile handle accounted for nearly 70% of all wagering, but the $42.9 million in digital sportsbook revenue accounted for 72.4% of the overall total. It was the sixth time this year mobile operators combined for a hold of 7% or higher, something they only did twice from 2020-24.
The $310.5 million in mobile operator winnings has accounted for more than two-thirds of the $461 million win overall and is tracking to be the highest split attained since the NGCB began publishing monthly mobile figures in 2020.
Last year marked the first time mobile revenue accounted for more than half the state’s total sportsbook winnings at 59.3%.
