The year ended with a flourish for sportsbooks as revenue grew by 27.7% year-on-year in December to US$44.1m. A 37.0% rise in football win to US$31.6m accounted for around 75% of that figure, with a fall in baseball and basketball. Football and basketball each saw a slight rise in handle, but baseball was down by 11.0%.
Nevada’s statewide casino gaming revenue was US$999.7m, which was up 4.1% on December 2017. Total win for the full year was US$11.9bn, up 3.0% on the previous year.
The slots vertical was up 3.8% to US$7.73bn in 2018, while other casino gaming grew 1.6% to US$4.24bn.
The NGCB’s figures were released just as a new survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA) shows that as many as eight in 10 Americans (79%) support the legalisation of betting in their states. Two thirds of those surveyed (66%) agree that regulation and oversight of gaming should be left to those jurisdictions.
Additional findings include little public support for professional sports leagues taking a share of sports betting revenue by getting a cut of the amount wagered on sports – so-called ‘integrity fees’. Only 23% of Americans believe that the leagues should collect a fee from the amount wagered on sports, while 55% oppose.
“The results of this research are overwhelmingly clear: consumers want legal sports betting, they believe it should be regulated by state and tribal governments and they don’t think the leagues should get a cut,” said Sara Slane, senior vice president of the AGA.
“This weekend, 23 million Americans wagered a staggering US$6bn on the Super Bowl. To put that in perspective, Americans will bet around the same amount on this one event as they bet legally in all of 2018.”
“However, Americans will continue to bet illegally without access to safe, regulated alternatives. With sports betting legislation flooding state capitals across the country, legislators can pursue these opportunities knowing they have the support of their constituents. AGA will continue to advocate for the inclusion of sensible gaming policies wherever it is being considered, including consumer protections and reasonable tax rates that enable the legal, regulated market to compete with illegal bookies and offshore operators,” Slane concluded.
Source: GMB / Totally Gaming
