Mississippi Sports Wagering Revenue Grows in September; 19.2% Year-on-Year

Figures show that sports betting revenue in Mississippi increased by 19.2% year-on-year to $37.9m, which represents almost double the amount month-on-month. The state took in $5.6m in revenue from sports bets.

As far as the state’s Gaming Commission revealed, bookmakers in the region recorded a 15.29% win percentage. The total revenue from the region totaled $780,798, up 65.9% year-on-year.

The state’s total revenue figure of $5.6m was a 95.2% increase from August, but only a 2.3% increase from September 2018, as a win percentage fell from 17.3% last year to 14.9% in 2019.

Central Casinos as Main Contributors

The casinos in the state’s central region were mainly responsible for the year-on-year increase. Even though amounts wagered were the lowest of Mississippi’s three regions, handle increased to $5.1m. This represents a growth of 75.6% from September 2018.

The largest source of activity was the coastal region…

… with stakes of $25.4m representing a 14.7% increase from the previous year. However, the region’s win percentage decreased from 17.7% to 13.9%, causing coastal region revenue to go down 10.2% to $3.5m.

The northern region of the state handled $7.4m in sports bets, up 9.6% from 2018. The win percentage in the region came to 18.1%, ensuring a revenue surge of 19% to $1.3m.

Football Leads the Way

The return of the NFL from September 5…

…made football the most popular sport for wagers in the state. With $25.7m staked, the amount represents more than two-thirds of the state’s overall handle.

The sport’s popularity was consistent from region to region:

• 70.1% of central region handle
• 69.2% of northern region handle
• 66.8% of coastal region handle

Revenue from football amounted to $2.9m across the state, which represents 50.9% of Mississippi’s monthly total.

Contribution from Other Sources

The most profitable form of betting for Mississippi bookmakers was parlay cards, collecting $2.2m in revenue on $6.5m worth of bets. With $729,744 on a $1.2m handle, they were the largest source of revenue in the northern region of the state.

While just $599,108 was wagered on parlay cards in the central region…

…. that represented a 297.1% increase year-on-year, while revenue from parlays rose 387.3% to $187,373. Bookmakers in the coastal region acquired $1.3m on parlay cards on $4.6m worth of bets.

Punters in the state wagered $5m on baseball, which is an increase of 32.1% year-on-year. While bookmakers in the state made only $349,976 in revenue from those wagers for a 7.1% win percentage. The figures represent an improvement from September 2018, when bookies lost money on baseball.

Basketball handle totaled $155,273, while revenue from the sport totaled $29,055.

Source:

“Mississippi sports betting handle skyrockets in September”, Daniel Oboyle, igbnorthamerica.com, October 21, 2019.