Recently, gaming executives discussed their earnings releases from Q3. Two major sportsbooks spoke about the public’s success during October 2024. Caesar’s CEO Tom Regg and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins noted that the middle two weeks of October were some of the most successful runs for gamblers in U.S. history.
Operators struggled in October as NFL favorites were winning at an astonishing rate. Thomas Regg noted that no operators in the United States will be happy with their figures from October 2024. However, that’s part of their business. Multiple operators across the US have begun reporting their figures from October. It’s abundantly clear that the public’s success was a major reason that revenue was down across the board.
What was the consensus for U.S. sportsbooks in October?
There are currently 38 states and U.S. jurisdictions that allow some form of legal sports betting. Whether that be online, retail, or state-run lotteries. Of the 30 legal betting states that release their monthly figures, only one reported a double-digit hold in October. Three operators had a hold of at least 9% and two more operators had at least an 8% hold. Nine U.S. markets had a win rate of at least 7%.
Fifteen of the 30 betting states that reported their October figures had at least a hold of 7% or greater. Four states had a hold of 5% or fewer. That was a drastic change from what the U.S. sportsbooks saw in September. There were 30 states in September that reported a hold of at least 10%. Another two states had holds of at least 9%. The public’s success in October is why most U.S. sportsbooks took a step back in their month-over-month revenue.
Where did the biggest changes happen in October?
Nevada had the largest decrease of any U.S. sportsbook in October at 64.2%. Revenue from the NFL in Nevada was down 79.2% year-over-year compared to figures from October 2023. The state’s 3.6% hold in October 2024 was their lowest ever recorded. Five of the top 10 states by handle saw revenue fall by at least 30%.
