Nevada gaming win slumps to yearly low in August

Gaming win in Nevada slipped to a yearly low of $913m (£701m/€787.2m) in August, with state regulators blaming a lack of major events.

Total state win was down 7.7% year-on-year, while revenue on the famous Las Vegas slumped 12.4% to $477.9m.

Last August, Nevada’s casinos won a total of $989.5m, but the Nevada Gaming Control Board said this amount was boosted by an increase in sports betting around the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. The August 2017 total was up almost 15% year-on-year, with Strip win up by 21.35%.

This year, sports pool win hit $12.6m, down almost 63% on last year, while racebook pari mutuel fell 3.8% year-on-year to $3.5m.

Michael Lawton, senior research analysts for the administration division of the Control Board, said the state faced an “extremely difficult comparison”.

“Last year’s increase was driven in part by a very successful fight between Mayweather and McGregor,” Lawton said, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “As a result, we are disappointed but not surprised by this August being down 12.4 percent on the Strip.

“We are anticipating that this is a short-term trend affecting the third quarter.”

Lawton noted that both MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. have also said the lack of special events and conventions impacted their results.

Despite the decline, Nevada remains some way out in front in terms of gambling win. However, the recent decision by the Supreme Court to overturn PASPA has opened the door for other states to legalise sports betting and make up ground.

Earlier this month, research company Eilers & Krejcik Gaming tipped New Jersey to surpass the Nevada sports betting market by 2021.

The firm tipped the fledgling New Jersey market to increase from a current yield of just $35m this year to $442m by the end of 2021. Nevada is expected to rise from $279m to $410m in the same period.