Sports betting soars thanks to the Merryweather vs. McGregor fight
Gambling results for August released Friday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show that casino revenues rose almost 15 percent year-on-year to $989.5 million, with sports betting revenue up a phenomenal 1,600 percent due mainly to betting on the McGregor vs. Merryweather fight, which delivered stakes of over $60 million.
This was augmented by a good start to the football season, with revenue up 112 percent year-on-year at $6.6 million.
The casinos celebrated double-digit growth in revenues from slots and table games, with the former up 5 percent at $624.7 million, blackjack up 33.6 percent at $108.5 million and the key baccarat tables delivering revenues of $101.5 million – up almost 38 percent.
On the sportsbook front total betting revenue soared 1,651 percent to $33.95 million on a margin of 11.3 percent, with handle at over $100 million.
The big fight falls into the “other” sports betting category and helped drive sector revenue up over 1,777 percent at $19.8 million with a hold of 26.6 percent. Baseball wagering was also up significantly at more than $40 million better than August 2016. Books held $8.6 million of $189.5 million in wagers.