Record handles are being set all over but the pioneer in the legal U.S. sports betting industry is far from silent, as Nevada recently reported a historic sports betting revenue high of $1.1 billion in October of 2021. The previous high was set just a month earlier at $728.6 million which makes the 34 percent one-month jump even more remarkable.
New Jersey had set the gold standard as the first state to break the billion-dollar milestone back in September and repeated the feat in October of this year. But now Sin City and all the other Nevada sportsbook jurisdictions are getting into the groove with mobile betting contributing nearly two-thirds of the sports betting action.
Football is clearly king when it comes to sports betting – as if we didn’t know this already – evidenced by $728.6 million in total wagers earmarked for the NFL and college football games. Nevada sportsbooks won over $48 million in October which was a substantial 14 percent increase over last October.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) Senior Economic Analyst Michael Lawton stated, “Another contributing factor is this month also had five weekends of NFL games which obviously contributed to the football totals. The final point, we are hearing which is more difficult to quantify is the impact of the Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium. Raiders home games have been generating higher wagering totals for some operators compared to when they are playing on the road thus far.”
Lawton also added via an email, “Another contributing factor is this month also had 5 weekends of NFL games which obviously contributed to the football totals. The final point, we are hearing which is more difficult to quantify is the impact of the Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium. Raiders home games have been generating higher wagering totals for some operators compared to when they are playing on the road thus far.”
It is likely that the dazzling numbers that both Nevada and New Jersey are doing coupled with the positive results from other states that were early adopters of sports betting will promulgate a call to action by those teetering on the fence. Sports betting has been a hot-button topic for many state legislatures and voter referendums show that the vast majority of U.S. citizens either want sports betting or have no objection to it.
Seminole Tribe in Florida Booking Illegally
Several states are in the midst of going live with their mobile sports betting platforms but some are embroiled in a legal quagmire, like the one occurring in Florida where a compact between the Sunshine State and the Native American Seminole Tribe initially allowed exclusivity in offering mobile gaming.
However, a federal court judge subsequently ruled that the arrangement was illegal, upon which the Seminole Tribe filed an immediate appeal and an emergency motion for a stay pending the appeal process. Despite the court’s determination that such an exclusive arrangement was illegal, the tribe is still offering mobile sports betting in defiance of the order.
West Flagler Associates, on behalf of Magic City Casino, has filed its formal response and stated, “The Tribe has been disingenuous with the Court over its alleged irreparable harm: while telling the Court that, absent an emergency stay, it stands to lose tens of millions in revenue, it is telling its customers (over a week after the District Court’s ruling) that its unlawful online sports gaming ‘remains fully open to all players’ and ‘there is no need to worry.
Although U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, and the federal government do not agree with the tribe’s contention that an emergency stay is needed because it would do irreparable harm to the Seminole Tribe, it doesn’t necessarily oppose it either until the matter gets meted out in the courts.
“Although the federal government disagrees with the particular analysis presented in the Tribe’s motion regarding the likelihood of success on the merits, it does not oppose the Tribe’s request that a stay is granted,” the government wrote.
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