Sports betting in Nevada saw revenue rise by a hefty 36% in January to $20.15m on handle of $502.5m according to the latest monthly statistics from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. A breakdown of that figure showed that mobile handle came to nearly $246m, almost 50% of the total. Mobile revenue was $11.2m, circa 55% of the total.

Basketball led the state’s betting activity, generating revenue of $12.5m, while football revenue fell more than a quarter from January 2019 to $5.8m. 

The Control Board figures showed statewide casino gaming revenue of $1.04b in January, a 5.5% gain year-on-year, but a gentle decline from December 2019’s $1.06b. The gains were largely due to a strong rebound in baccarat revenue, which had fallen more than one-quarter in December. 

January’s baccarat revenue hit $112.2m, up 17% year-on-year and over 47% higher than December, which helped elevate January’s overall ‘table, counter and card games’ segment up 12.1% to $365.7m.

Blackjack also had a strong month, gaining 6.8% to $96.4m, while roulette was up 17.6% to $34.6m. Craps declined by 2.8% in January to $33.7m but the state’s poker rooms saw growth of 20.1% to $11.6m. Slots revenue experienced a 2.2% rise to $675.5m.

Total slots win across the state was up 2.2% to $676m off a win percentage of 7.2%, while games and tables win rose 12.1% to $366m off a win percentage of 12.8%. Three-Card Poker stood out with a gaming win bump up of 33%.

The gaming figures come as Las Vegas welcomed approximately 3.5 million visitors in January, up 3.9% from last year, according to research undertaken by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The month also saw positive gains in citywide occupancy, which averaged 85.9%, up 1.9 points from last year. Weekend occupancy averaged 90.1% while midweek occupancy averaged 83.8%, representing a year over year increase of 1.3 and 1.7 points, respectively.