The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported $42 million in sports betting revenue for August on Friday as operators got off to a strong start for football season and continued their winning ways in baseball.
Revenue was up 68% from last year, boosted by a 9.2% hold that was 3.75 percentage points higher. In addition to having the sixth-highest monthly win rate in the post-PASPA era, August marked the first time the collective statewide hold eclipsed 9% in back-to-back months post-PASPA.
Handle was relatively flat at $455 million, down 0.2% from 12 months ago. The $4.83 billion wagered overall through the first eight months of the year is up 3.2% compared to the same period in 2024, but the $3.46 billion mobile handle is up 12.9% and perhaps partially reflective of the general downturn in tourism on the Las Vegas Strip.
The state collected $2.8 million in tax revenue from sports wagering, and Nevada became the 11th state to surpass $200 million in all-time receipts post-PASPA. The Silver State taxes sports betting revenue at 6.75%, which is tied with Iowa for the lowest rate in the United States.
A football boost and baseball battering
August is a time when Nevada sportsbooks begin fielding NFL and college football futures in earnest, including some big-ticket wagers with potential seven-figure payouts. The addition of Week 0 to the college football schedule in recent years has also proven popular for wagering in the Silver State.
The $96.1 million combined handle for pro and college football was up 13.6% compared to last year and more than double the $42.9 million worth of wagers placed in 2021. There were likely some large futures wagers as operators were able to report $15 million-plus in football revenue for the month — 71.8% higher year-over-year and more than the $13.9 million reported for February when the Super Bowl is played.
The bigger surprise in terms of sportsbook performance, though, continues to be baseball. The house topped $20 million in winnings for the third straight month — a benchmark never reached prior to June — and attained a 10%-plus hold for the second consecutive month in keeping $20.5 million of the $204.6 million bet.
The $101.3 million in baseball revenue collected from April through August represents a 64.7% jump from the same period last year compared to the mere 6.9% increase in handle to $1.18 billion. Operators posted monthly holds of 8.1% or higher all four months, peaking at 10.7% in July.
The catch-all “other” category — comprised of golf, tennis, soccer, boxing, MMA, and auto racing among others — accounted for the other large bucket of revenue at $9.3 million. Operators had a 9% hold on the $103.1 million wagered across those sports.
Mobile creating margins
Despite the slight increase in overall handle, total sportsbook revenue for the first eight months of 2025 is up 19.8% to $347.4 million compared to last year. And while mobile sports betting requires in-person registration for access, it appears there are either enough bettors filling out that paperwork or repeat business with apps already downloaded for wagering purposes.
Digital wagering has accounted for more than two-thirds of total revenue this year after mobile operators tallied $29.3 million in August. Those books had an 8.8% hold on $334 million worth of wagers, and the 6.8% hold for the year is tracking more than 1.3 percentage points higher than the 5.5% win rate for all of 2024. The $235 million in mobile winnings is up 31.9% compared to last year.
Their retail counterparts have not been lagging this year and crafted a 10.6% hold in August to claim $12.8 million. The $112.4 million in revenue from in-person wagering is up 0.6% versus the first eight months of 2024, but that slight gain looks more impressive given retail handle has slid 15.3% to $1.37 billion.
