Figures released on Tuesday (29 October) from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) showed that the state tallied $1.31 billion (£1 billion/€1.21 billion) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for September, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%. This growth was attributable to the Las Vegas locals market and downtown, not the Strip.
NGCB data showed that downtown Las Vegas tallied $91 million in GGR for September. That represented a 33% increase from last year, the highest jump from any Nevada market. The Las Vegas locals sector brought in $156 million, up 15.8% from a year ago.
For the fiscal year thus far, both markets are up approximately 12% from this point in 2023. Those are the highest marks for any verticals reported by the board.
The combination of the ancillary markets helped soften the fact that the Strip reported its third straight monthly decline. Its total of $727.6 million was a year-on-year drop of 1.8%. Overall, the Strip is down 7.2% from this point last year, the worst of any market. The state overall is 2.6% off from its record-breaking pace from this point a year ago.
Looking closer at the Strip’s report, baccarat continues to be boom or bust for the nation’s gaming capital. The Strip won $88.5 million on the game in September, a 40% decrease year-on-year. To illustrate the volatility of the game, the Strip is down 50% so far in FY24 but is still up 16% for the previous 12 months (1 October 2023-30 September 2024).
Nevada sports betting had strong September
Among the highlights of the report was the strength of the state’s sports betting numbers. Statewide sports betting GGR was $80.8 million, up 30% from a year ago. For FY24 so far, state sportsbooks have generated GGR of $131.6 million, a 25% bump from this point in 2023.
Mobile betting last month accounted for $36 million of the revenue total, also up 25% from September 2023.
The NFL and college football seasons have been good so far for the state. Last month, the first full month of regular season action, saw a total of $55.8 million in football betting revenue, up 49% year-on-year. The entire season so far has brought in $64 million, an increase of 53% from a year ago.
Reno carries northern performance
To the north, Reno’s $71.9 million GGR (+12.4%) carried Washoe County as a whole to a year-on-year gain of 7%. Despite the strong month, the market is still flat compared to this point last year.
Most other major markets in the region, including Sparks (-6%), South Lake Tahoe (-19%), Wendover (-1.4%) and Carson Valley (-6%) posted marked declines. All of those except for Carson (flat) are down for the fiscal year so far.
