Nevada Sports Betting Revenue, Handle and Taxes
Nevada Gambling Trends
Nevada Sports Betting Data
| Month | Handle | Handle Per Capita | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
| November 2023 | $921,619,677 | $653 | $40,992,000 | 4.4% | $2,766,960 |
| October 2023 | $815,650,207 | $578 | $68,111,000 | 8.4% | $4,597,493 |
| September 2023 | $811,353,568 | $575 | $62,297,000 | 7.7% | $4,205,048 |
| August 2023 | $431,597,004 | $306 | $18,101,000 | 6.2% | $1,221,818 |
| July 2023 | $408,261,712 | $289 | $25,256,000 | 6.2% | $1,704,780 |
| June 2023 | $479,039,381 | $339 | $9,503,000 | 2% | $641,453 |
| May 2023 | $527,205,770 | $374 | $30,064,000 | 5.7% | $2,029,320 |
| April 2023 | $580,550,628 | $411 | $30,533,000 | 5.3% | $2,060,978 |
| March 2023 | $829,842,964 | $588 | $43,851,000 | 5.3% | $2,959,943 |
| February 2023 | $659,079,542 | $467 | $41,277,000 | 6.3% | $2,786,198 |
Nevada Sports Betting Revenue
It is important to first point out that sports betting in Nevada has been legal since 1949. The state was also exempt from the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), allowing it to introduce online sports betting in 2010.
With PASPA being overturned in May 2018, Nevada now has major competition in the sports betting market. Starting from June 2018, Nevada sports betting revenue started strongly at $20.1 million. The next two months had sharp decreases in revenue, with just $4 million in July 2018 and $12.6 million in August 2018. Once the football season started in September 2018, Nevada sports betting revenue increased to $56.3 million. Following this increase, Nevada sports betting revenue started to fluctuate and did not reach $50 million again until September 2019.
In 2020, Nevada sports betting revenue took another huge hit because of the pandemic, dropping to as low as $1.3 million in March, April and May, before June 2020 brought a loss of $483,000. By the end of 2020, Nevada sports betting revenue was back up and hit $61.8 million in November. The same trend continued in 2021, as the two biggest months were September ($54.2 million) and November ($71.9 million). In 2022, September was the biggest month for Nevada sports betting revenue at $70.6 million. Rolling into 2023 and Nevada sports betting revenue surpassed at least $30 million from January to May, and is likely set for a huge increase when the 2023 football season starts.
Nevada Sports Betting Taxes
The Nevada sports betting tax rate is 6.75% for State taxes and 24% for Federal taxes. The Federal tax rate applies to bettors who have winnings over $5,000. Even with this high tax rate, it has generally not affected the handle, as Nevada sports betting handle still brings in hundreds of millions of dollars every month.
Nevada Sports Betting Handle
Handle can be defined by the total amount of money that is bet over a given time period. Usually this number is calculated per month. Nevada sports betting handle was $286.2 million in June 2018, a month after the Supreme Court overturned PASPA. Following that, this number nearly doubled starting in September 2018 and it remained over $450 million for the next seven months. From April 2019 to August 2019, the Nevada sports betting handle dipped again, but from September 2019 to February 2020, the handle numbers once again exceeded $450 million every month.
March 2020 to July 2020 was the biggest decrease in handle due to the pandemic, and it dropped as low as $28.1 million. However, since August 2020, the Nevada sports betting handle has exceeded $400 million every month, highlighted by October 2021 to January 2022 when the Nevada sports betting handle exceeded $1 billion for four consecutive months.
Nevada Sports Betting Handle Per Capita
Handle per capita refers to the average amount of money bettors are placing over a given time period. Nevada unsurprisingly has some of the biggest sports bettors. The average handle per capita from June 2018 to May 2023 was $390.18. During that time, Nevada’s handle per capita reached as high as $779.89 in October 2021 and fell as low as $19.93 in April and May of 2020.
The state closest to Nevada in terms of handle per capita is New Jersey. That being said, Nevada still blows NJ out of the water, making it the premier destination for sports bettors who want to bet big.
Nevada Sports Betting Hold
Hold is the percentage that a sportsbook gets back after a bet has been settled. It will vary between sportsbooks and depending on the market. The sports betting hold can also be referred to as the “juice” on a bet, so it is essentially the tax a sports bettor is paying to the sportsbook to be able to place their bet.
Since June 2018, the Nevada sports betting hold has been an average of 5.48%. The lowest Nevada sports betting hold was recorded in June 2020, when it was -0.60%, and the highest point was in November 2020, when the Nevada sports betting hold was 10.10%. There has not been a consistent trend over the years, as the Nevada sports betting hold varies from month to month depending on the handle and revenue.
FAQs
Yes, the Nevada sports betting tax rate is a fixed 6.75% for Nevada state taxes, and a 24% tax rate for Federal taxes.
So far this year through May 2023, Nevada sports betting handle has totaled $3.5 billion. This gives it an average handle of $706 million per month with the most recent data being from May 2023 when the Nevada sports betting handle was $527.4 million.