Sports Betting Revenue Remains Strong Amid Nationwide Drop in June Handles
While inflation and gas prices continue to negatively affect the lives of Americans, states around the country continue to report sizable revenue in sports betting.
Although handles dipped across the board in June, bettors are still seeking investments on sporting events as an alternative to the declining values of 401K portfolios. June was highlighted by action involving MLB, the NBA Finals, NBA draft betting, the NHL Stanley Cup Final, UFC and the Belmont Stakes.
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Albert Cesare-USA TODAY Sports
June 2022: Top States in Reported Sports Betting Handles
1. New York: $1,056,694,012
2. New Jersey: $633,184,861
3. Nevada: $490,310,834
4. Pennsylvania: $393,494,222
New York
New York continues to be the only reported state with a billion-dollar handle.
The Empire State, despite witnessing its worst revenue generating month of 2022, still brought in $72,441,500 off $1,056,694,012 in total sports betting handle in June.
The success of the Yankees, who went 22-6 in the month of June, was not enough to propel New York bettors to a winning month over the sportsbooks. While the excitement of the Yankees and the Mets both boosted handles, the early summer sports were not enough to carry bettors to a financial win as sportsbooks posted an impressive hold percentage above 5.0% for the fourth consecutive month.
New Jersey
New Jersey saw a decrease in total sports betting handle for the third consecutive month, falling from $926,946,780 in April to $39,245,213 in June.
The Garden State brought in $39,245,213 in sports betting revenue for June, which displays a significant 44.9% drop from June of 2021 posted figure of $71,267,544.
However, New Jersey enjoyed its second-best hold percentage (6.2%) of the year behind May (8.0%) despite witnessing its second-lowest revenue generating month since August of 2020.
While bettors could not wager on the NBA draft in New York, they could in New Jersey. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s tweet of Jabari Smith going No. 1 overall was perhaps followed too strongly by those in the Garden State who were on the wrong side of the late sharps swing that the top honors would belong to Paolo Banchero.
Although schools are on break, family trips to Atlantic City beaches and casinos did not translate into increased handle for sportsbooks in the first month of summer.
Nevada
Nevada sportsbooks will likely fall out of the top three once Illinois releases its numbers soon. Las Vegas sportsbooks directors continue to be “reluctant” to adapt to what other operators are offering and that is negatively affecting handle and revenue.
Nevada brought in $23,833,068 (4.9% hold percentage) in sports betting revenue off of $490,310,834 in handle in June.
Those figures revealed a 18.3% decline from the $29,186,000 in revenue in June 2021.
The Silver State, which witnessed a boom in strip tourism thanks to the World Series of Poker, did not see the spike translate into sports betting success. Nevada witnessed its lowest sports betting handle of 2022, dropping below the $500 million mark for the first time since August 2021.
While many states around the country offered intriguing markets around the NBA draft, Vegas stubbornly refused to offer patrons similar investment opportunities. The unwillingness to match markets is resulting in bettors contacting friends or family outside the state for the desired action.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania reported its worst handle ($393,494,222) of 2022, which represented a 20.2% drop from the previous month of May ($493,350,519).
The Keystone State still managed to post $22,889,554 in revenue, which resulted in a hold percentage of 5.8%.
It appears that bettors still failed to yield a victory over the sportsbooks despite the hometown Phillies going 19-8 June, which included a nine-game winning streak.
Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.
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