Assessing Nevada’s Sports Betting Industry in 2022
Legal sports betting in the United States was confined to just one state prior to the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision concerning the issue in May of 2018. Until that point, Nevada enjoyed a lengthy monopoly after legalizing sports betting in this state all the way back in 1949.
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Once individual states were given the right to govern and regulate sports betting within their own borders, all bets were off.
New Jersey led the fight against the federal government (and professional sports leagues such as the NFL) in the lawsuit that went all the way to the country’s highest court. The Garden State was also one of the first to launch legal sports betting in land-based casinos and horse racing tracks outside of Nevada. Online betting through mobile sportsbook operators was quickly added to the mix.
While Nevada remained the biggest sports betting market in the US for the next year or so, it did not take New Jersey all that long to claim the top spot on the list. Both markets had land-based casinos with Nevada getting the huge edge with Las Vegas and to a lesser extent Reno. New Jersey’s casino venues were limited to Atlantic City.
The main reason why New Jersey’s sports betting industry became the biggest market in a relatively short amount of time was the heavy promotion of online betting through mobile sportsbook apps. More than 90% of the state’s monthly sports betting handle was generated online.
Nevada regulators were slow to react to the rapidly changing marketplace in an effort to protect the state’s land-based casino industry. Online sports betting was available but online betting accounts had to be opened at retail betting establishments. This antiquated requirement basically shutout FanDuel and DraftKings in the Nevada market as the two biggest sportsbook operators in the US.
To this day, Nevada lags way behind most states with legal mobile betting when it comes to share of market. The numbers have been increasing but only 60% to 65% of the monthly sports betting handle is generated online.
To put this situation in better perspective, New Jersey generated a billion-dollar-plus handle for five months in a row starting in September of last year. That streak finally came to an end in February.
New York launched legal mobile sports betting on Jan. 8 and generated a new national record for sports betting that month at $1.65 billion. The gaming numbers in the Empire State for March point to a $1.638 billion handle as part of an amazing three-month run.
Nevada is now the third-biggest market in the US and losing ground to the top two states. The sports betting handle for January and February combined was $1.9 billion. Going back to 2021, Nevada’s handle for the year was $8.13 billion as compared to New Jersey’s $10 billion in legal betting volume.
There is no doubt that COVID-19 had a bigger impact on Nevada’s entire gaming industry because of its heavy reliance on tourism. However, the state’s failure to take full advantage of mobile sports betting continues to take its toll.
Las Vegas still remains the gaming capital of the country and it will always hold a special place in the hearts of avid sports bettors from all 50 states. However, requiring those bettors to register for online accounts at retail sportsbook locations is counterproductive.
Recent changes to this regulation are a step in the right direction. Sports bettors can register online but a new account still needs to be verified in person.
On the plus side, Las Vegas does continue to be proactive in building the local sports scene through professional sports teams. The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights blazed the trail and bringing the NFL’s Raiders to town was a major coup. Speculation continues that a NBA and MLB franchise may take to plunge in the not too distant future.
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