Mississippi sports betting handle down 30% in August

Mississippi sports betting handle plummeted to an all-time low in August, according to the latest monthly financial data released by the state regulator.

The report published by the Mississippi Gaming Commission shows that legal sportsbooks in the Magnolia State took in $21.4 million worth of bets in August, down 30.1% from July’s $30.7 million betting handle. The figure reported in August is also 47.1% lower than the $40.5 million posted in the same month last year.

The revenue generated by the Mississippi sports betting industry also decreased significantly when compared to the numbers reported in July 2021.

The amount held by operators in August was $1.9 million, translating to a win rate of 8.80%. When compared to the $2.9 million won in July, August’s hold was 34.7% down month-on-month, and it was also 49.7% lower than the $3.7 million won in August 2020.

The massive dip in both betting handle and sports wagering revenue can be attributed to the thin sports schedule in summer and closures in the MS Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Ida towards the end of the month.

The state’s operators are looking forward to a better month in September after the return of college football and the start of the NFL season.

Golf Coast casinos account for 64% of Mississippi handle

Casinos in the Coastal part of Mississippi had the highest betting handle in the state in August, according to the data published by the MGC.

Operators in the region took in a combined $13.8 million in wagers, accounting for 64.4% of the state’s total betting handle. The total revenue posted by sportsbooks in the region was $894,312, translating to a hold percentage of 6.49%.

The majority of the region’s handle came from baseball betting, at $9.01 million. Of the total bets placed on the sport in the Coastal Region, the casinos held $650,362, indicating a win rate of 7.2%.

The onset of preseason football games in early August as well as return of college football led to a remarkable improvement in football betting, as the region’s handle for the sport rose from just $1,666 in July to 1.4 million August. A total of $246,069 was wagered on basketball in the month, down from $5.2 million in July.

The value of bets placed on other sports was $3.1 million.

The Coastal Region is the Magnolia State’s premier gaming and sports betting destination, and it can only be compared to Las Vegas and Atlantic City in the country. The region is home to 12 state-of-the-art casinos, including Golden Nugget, Beau Rivage, Scarlet Pearl, IP Casino Biloxi, Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Hard Rock.

How did Central and Northern operators fare?

Casinos in the Mississippi’s Central region took in $4.0 million worth of sports bets in August, down from $6.5 million in the previous month. The taxable revenue generated by the activity was $639,849, down from $1.3 million in July. The win rate for operators in the region was an impressive 15.8%.

Parlay cards topped in the region’s sports category, after posting a handle of $1.4 million and $326,615 in revenue, indicating a win rate of 23.6%.

Sportsbooks in the Northern Region, on the other hand, won $352,242 in August from a betting handle of $3.6 million.

The sport that attracted the highest number of bettors in the region was baseball, which had a betting handle of $2.1 million and $230,339 in revenue.

Parlay betting came in a distant second with a handle of $489,914 and $125,968 in revenue, while football betting posted $486,853 in handle and $32,323 in taxable revenue.

Mississippi is one of a few US states without online sportsbooks. Casinos in the state offer retail sports wagering services only, and mobile betting is limited to the premises of licensed facilities.