Nevada gaming revenues: how much does the stake rake?
The complete low-down on Nevada gaming revenues, Nevada gambling laws and online gambling in Nevada.
Nevada is known for gambling, particularly in the casino mecca of Las Vegas, but just how big are Nevada gaming revenues?
Here we look at the question of Nevada gaming revenues and how they’ve developed in recent years. We’ll also look at Nevada gambling laws and the status of online gambling in Nevada.
Of course, it’s not just Las Vegas, there are other Nevada casino towns such as Reno. We’ll also look at how they compare.
Nevada gaming revenues
Nevada is home to Las Vegas, perhaps the most famous gaming destination in the world. It should be no surprise then that Nevada gaming revenues are the highest in the US.
Nevada gaming revenues reached $2.6bn in Q1 2021. That’s more than double the $1.04bn gaming revenue seen in Pennsylvania, which is US state with the second-highest gaming revenue. And that’s despite the fact that online gambling in Nevada is limited.
In April 2021, Nevada collected more than $1bn in gambling revenue from casinos, an 11 per cent jump from the pre-Covid-19 levels seen in April 2019. That’s a sure sign of the robustness of Nevada’s gaming industry.
“In Nevada, a billion-dollar win is a bellwether number,” says Michael Lawton, a senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. “We’ve only hit $1bn in the month of April three times in our state history.”
In fact, April 2021 was the second month in a row that Nevada gaming revenues reached more than $1bn. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, pent up demand and stimulus checks led to the largest gaming win recorded by the state in eight years in March.
Honing in on the Las Vegas Strip, which is heavily reliant on tourism, monthly gaming revenue there hit $483.4m in April. That represented an increase of just 0.3 per cent from April 2019.
At the same time, Nevada’s slot machines brought in their highest monthly revenues yet at $793.7m, beating a previous set record in October 2007 by $14m.
This all suggests that Nevada gaming revenues remain resilient despite a decline in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nevada gaming revenues for 2020 came in at $7.87bn, which was down 34.6 per cent year-on-year and the lowest annual total since 1996.
Slot machines made up more than two-thirds of that at $5.42bn. Multi-denomination and penny slots made up the majority, with the former bringing in just over $2.38bn.
Nevada casino towns
So the Strip is clearly not the only Nevada casino town driving gaming revenue because although tourism is down, Nevada gaming revenues are up.
Downtown Las Vegas, a market driven by local gamblers rather than tourists, saw all-time record monthly revenue of $76.2m in April 2021. Again, it was the second month in a row that revenue beat previous records, and the figure marked a 23 per cent rise against April 2019.
Reno, another major Nevada gambling destination, saw monthly gaming revenues in January 2021 increase by almost 1.9 per cent year-on-year to $48.4m.
Among other Nevada casino towns, North Lake Tahoe saw revenue up 23.7 per cent. South Lake Tahoe saw gaming revenue decline 11.5 per cent, but rural areas like Elko, Wendover, and the Carson Valley area, all saw double-digit rises.
A full recovery is still some distance away. The number of people visiting Vegas in April 2020 was down 27 per cent compared with April 2019. Hotel occupancy remained down 24 per cent.
However, with thriving Nevada casino towns like Reno, locals and visitors within driving distance continue to generate record Nevada gaming revenues.
Nevada gaming revenues from sports betting
Of the $1bn in revenue generated in April 2021, $27.2m came from sports betting.
However, Nevada gaming revenue from sports betting has actually fallen in the last year or so. That’s partly due to the interruption of the sporting calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but it’s also due to new competition from other states.
In September 2018, sports betting generated a high of $56.3m in gaming revenue in Nevada. Since then, many more states in the US have legalised sports betting. Nevada casino towns are no longer the select few sports betting destinations they were.
Revenue from online gambling in nevada
Las Vegas is widely known as the gambling capital of the US due to its grand casinos on The Strip, but what about online gambling?
Despite the advance of legislation to online casino gaming in more states in the US, there is still no legalisation of online gambling in Nevada. Online sports betting and poker have long taken place legally in Las Vegas, but igaming is still not permitted under Nevada’s laws and regulations.
As a result, Nevada gaming revenues mainly come from land-based operations, with the addition of online sports betting and poker.
Nevada gambling laws
Long seen as something of a renegade, Nevada was the first state to fully legalise and regulate casinos. With little in the way of an economy, it was decided that passing gambling laws in Nevada was a way to attract people to the state at a time when other states were prohibiting it.
The main Nevada gambling laws were introduced in 1931. Nevada’s then governor Fred Balzar signed the bill that legalised almost all forms of gambling in the state.
Nevada gambling laws impose no restrictions on the types of games permitted in Nevada’s casinos. In fact, the only thing not allowed by Nevada gambling laws is something that many other states have – a lottery. Casinos in the state have long fought the introduction of a lottery because it’s seen as competition for casinos.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), the body that regulates gambling in the state, is the final authority on licensing matters. It has the power to approve, restrict, limit, revoke or suspend gaming licences for online and land-based operators.
Nevada gambling laws: online gambling in Nevada
While many states in the US are only just beginning to iron out the fine details of their online gambling legislation, the regulated market for online gambling in Nevada dates back to 2010. However, online gambling in Nevada is limited to sports betting and poker because online casino gaming is not permitted.
At present, Nevada gambling laws allow for the following online gambling activities:
Sports betting
Unaffected by the federal ban on sports betting, Nevada was able to introduce regulations for online sports betting via websites and mobile sportsbook apps in 2010.
Since then, Nevada sportsbooks have been able to offer their services on internet and mobile platforms, although customer registration must be completed at a land-based casino. Offshore sportsbooks are also legally available to residents since no state or Federal gambling law directly prohibits them.
Poker
Nevada legalised online poker in 2013, becoming the second US state to do so after Delaware. Nevada’s online poker legislation, AB 114, permits players to play for real money on licensed online poker sites within the state’s borders. Players are only permitted to hold a single account on each site.
Since the bill came into effect, the NGCB has issued several online poker licenses but Caesars Entertainment’s WSOP.com accounts for nearly all of online traffic. Interstate poker has been available since 2015, with new states added to the agreement in 2018.
The transfer of player funds is prohibited by the NGCB and operators must hold a reserve equal to combined player funds. The rake cannot exceed 10 per cent. A 10-year “bad actors clause” prohibits offshore poker sites from gaining licences to operate in the state.
Igaming in Nevada
Despite a fairly liberal stance on gambling in general, online casino gambling is not permitted in Nevada. This is in order to protect the state’s world-renowned land-based casino operations. However, Nevada residents are able to use free social gambling sites.
Where to find the latest figures for Nevada gaming revenues
The Nevada Gaming Control Board publishes a Monthly Revenue Report, which summarises Nevada gaming revenues. Each report provides one-month, three-month, and 12-month data.
The American Gaming Association also tracks Nevada gambing revenues along with figures from other states in the US.
