Basketball helps Nevada gaming revenues hit close to $1bn

Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) reported Wednesday that casinos across the state brought in more than $991m last month, a 7.5% increase compared to a year ago.

Michael Lawton, Senior Research Analyst for the Tax and License Division of the NGCB, said one of the key factors that led to a lucrative March was the appetite for ‘March Madness’ college basketball betting.

“We almost did a billion dollars,” Lawton said. “We were just shy of that, and if baccarat had done better (we) probably would have been there.

“It was an all-time record. So needless to say, the activity was generated from NCAA basketball tournament. It was extremely strong and stronger on the win than the volume. Basketball hold was very high, at 9.61 percent.”

A record $439.5m was wagered on basketball in March, which more than made up for the sports books having lost $8.25m on football in January.

Moreover, Lawton also said that slot win and non-baccarat table games also attributed to the good news for casinos. Slot machines yielded casinos $655.4m, up 6.3% from last year, and table games took in $335.6m, up 9.8%.