The results are finally in for December 2017 in Nevada and Las Vegas. The news is good for sportsbooks, with sports betting operations in Nevada having their best year on record. Both the total amount of bets placed and the profit made by the sportsbooks broke previous records. The news for Las Vegas strip casinos wasn’t quite as good though.
Nevada Sportsbooks had a record-setting year in 2017, while strip casinos in Las Vegas struggled a bit in the closing months of the year
Sportsbooks Have Best Year Ever
During the course of 2017, sportsbooks in Nevada took in an impressive $4.8 billion worth of wagers. The sportsbooks themselves won $248.77 million off of those wagers. The previous best year was 2015, when they took in $4.2 billion and made $232 million in profits. This is an impressive increase over 2015, and the sportsbooks will no doubt be hoping that 2018 improves as well.
The largest number of bets were placed on college and professional football, with a total of $1.7 billion worth of wagers. However, it was basketball that generated the most revenue for the sportsbook. Basketball brought in $1.4 billion in bets, but sportsbooks enjoyed a 5.9% win rate, meaning they made $87.4 million. With football wagers, they only had a 4.4%-win rate, meaning these bets only generated $76.9 million.
Strip Casino Slump in December
As for casino revenue, December proved to be unremarkable for casinos across the state. Revenue only grew by 0.44%. However, things were not very good on the Las Vegas strip, which saw casino revenue dropping by 3.25%. This is the third month in a row that strip casino revenue has dropped, following the mass shooting. Since the shooting, revenue at strip casinos has dropped over 5%. However, for the entirety of 2017, the casinos saw their revenue climb by 1.4%, to $6.46 billion.
Things were much better for casinos in downtown Las Vegas, as they saw a 10% improvement in December, while 2017 saw a 12% gain overall, with revenue climbing to $631.2 million. While Nevada sportsbooks have had a great year in 2018, it will be interesting to see what 2018 has in store, especially if the Supreme Court repeals the federal ban on sports betting.
