Nevada Sportsbooks Have Record-Setting June

Nevada sportsbooks had an excellent June with revenue of $16.9 million. That amount is an all-time record for the month and close to double of last year’s profit. But it was only a moderate amount higher than 2015. Still, when sportsbooks have good months during the summer they’re happy. It could have been better, but total handle was just $294.1 million. That was less than the total handle for 2016. Much of that can be attributed to an early end to the NBA Finals.

The Nevada sportsbooks owe most of their good fortune to baseball where several records were set. June was an all-time high in both profit ($14.9 million) and handle ($207.1 million). The $207.1 million bet on baseball was the most for any month ever and just the second time betting has reached the $200 million mark for any one-month period.

Other than baseball bettors don’t have much to choose from in the summer. There’s the Canadian Football League and the WNBA. But there was also a 100-percent increase on wagering in the NBA’s summer league, which just happens to be held in Las Vegas. The league also had record attendance, which was helped by the Lonzo Ball playing in the league. It also helped that the Lakers won the league title.

While July is traditionally a slow month, things usually pick up in August. You have the NFL preseason starting and a handful of college football games at the end of the month. Bettors typically place most of their football futures bets in August. But this August could be a bit higher than normal with the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight. The fight is expected to be one of the most-bet in history. There have already been significant amounts of money wagered. But there will be plenty more leading to Aug. 26 when the match takes place in Las Vegas.