Nevada’s online and retail sportsbooks capped a strong summer with another year-over-year revenue boost in August.
Key Takeaways
- Nevada sportsbooks enjoyed having college football start its season in late August.
- Summer revenue spiked 52% compared to the same period in 2024.
- Baseball continues to be a moneymaker for Silver State operators.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board recently reported that Silver State operators generated $42 million, representing a 68% year-over-year increase from the same month in 2024. Football produced 86% more profit than in August 2024 to spur the spike. College football kicked off at the end of August, giving sportsbooks plenty of action, and with three top-10 teams getting upset that weekend, it proved to be a winning start for the books.
Nevada online sportsbooks accounted for $29.4 million of the total revenue, a 98% year-over-year bump. The increased profits came from a 9.2% hold, the highest of any month, and the operators’ best win rate since September 2024. August's hold was also up significantly from the previous year’s 5.5%.
Sportsbooks generated $455 million in wagers during August, down less than 0.2% from the previous year. Nevada’s monthly handle has eclipsed $400 million 13 consecutive times dating back to last year.
Summer to remember
The Silver State hauled in $2.8 million in taxes from online and retail sports betting, slightly ahead of July’s $2.5 million.
Despite drops in Las Vegas visitation, sportsbooks generated $122.2 million in revenue from over $1.37 billion in wagering from June through August. The summer profit haul increased nearly 52% from the same period in 2024 in one of Nevada’s best three-month summer runs ever.
The average hold during that stretch was nearly 9%, a significant spike from the summer of 2024’s 6.2%, while wagering over the last three months was up just 4.6% compared to last year.
Baseball continues profit boost
| Sport | August Revenue | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Football | $16.2 million | 85.9% |
| Baseball | $15.4 million | 58.6% |
| Other | $9.9 million | 29.8% |
Baseball has been a major contributor to Nevada operators’ profitable summer. The sport accounted for $15.4 million of the entire August profit, as revenue spiked 58.6% year-over-year. Baseball revenue set Silver State monthly records from May through July, and in total has made operators over $87 million during that span.
Revenue from the “other” sports category, which includes golf, tennis, soccer, MMA, and boxing, was up nearly 30% from the previous August and accounted for $9.9 million of the operators’ monthly total profits.
Basketball was a slight profit producer, generating just under $500,000 in revenue, while hockey cost Nevada sportsbooks around $260,000 in August.
