May’s financial reports from participating US legal sports betting states have been all over the map. Some jurisdictions have posted expected handle and revenue losses for May and others are reporting a rise in betting activity for their states over the 31-day period. Some have experienced handle rises along with revenue declines or vice versa.
Two smaller jurisdictions, Mississippi and Washington DC released their May figures late last week and they posted slight handle increases, bucking the expected trend of seasonal slowdowns across the broader US scene. Mississippi and DC join New Jersey and Indiana as participating US legal sports betting states to report increases in their betting activity in May. Others like Michigan and Pennsylvania saw declines in their month-to-month handles.
Let’s break it down, starting with Mississippi.
Mississippi
The Mississippi Gaming Commission reported an all-too-familiar May mixed bag in relation to their legal sports betting scene. Like many of the participating states that have already revealed their numbers, Mississippi posted a handle gain but a revenue dip.
Mississippi sportsbooks took in $36,125,896 in bets during May, which represents a 9.7% rise from the $32,917,836 they took in during April but a nearly 50% drop from the record $67.7 million wagered during the January reporting period.
As mentioned, despite a rise in handle, Mississippi May sports betting revenues dropped, thanks in large part to the decrease in hold. In April, Mississippi’s sportsbooks reported a high 13.07% hold while in May, that number was still reasonable, but it dropped to 10.76%. Revenues for the Mississippi scene in May came in at $3,888,299, down 9.6% from April’s $4,300,968 in sports betting profits.
Basketball continued to drive the Mississippi sports betting handle in May. A total of $15 million of the overall $36.1 million handle came from hoops with $7.4 million coming from baseball and $6 million being generated by parlays.
Washington DC
Washington DC is another in the long line of jurisdictions whose legal sports betting handle and revenues didn’t follow the same path in May. Like many states that have already reported, DC endured a handle rise and a revenue dip for its legal sports betting scene.
The total sports betting take in May for Washington DC sportsbooks came in at about $13.8 million, which is a healthy 28.2% spike from the $10.7 million in bets in April. 28% represents the highest spike seen so far of any US jurisdiction that has reported their May sports betting figures.
It was the retail side of the industry that dominated the overall handle interestingly, contrary to most other markets with both retail and mobile options. Almost $10.7 million of the overall handle came from William Hill’ retail location at Capitol One Arena with $3.1 million coming from DC’s only broad-ranging mobile app, GamebetDC.
Just like in Mississippi, while the DC sports betting handle increased, revenues from the platform fell. Sportsbooks made about $1.4 million in May, down 11.6% from April’s $1.6 million take. Tax revenue fell about the same, contributing $137,967 to state and local coffers in May, as opposed to $155,147 in April.
Looking to Summer and Beyond
Both Mississippi and Washington DC will be looking toward September 9 and the start of the NFL season before a tangible bounce back for their state’s legal sports betting industry. But each state has their own variables that could at least mitigate some of the summer slowdown effects.
Mississippi should continue to see bettors from neighboring Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana using their legal sports betting scenes throughout the summer, especially with the summer tourism season expected to provide a post-COVID spike. Washington DC will likely benefit from increased competition via the BetMGM platform that has finally been welcomed into their jurisdiction.
So, while the seasonal slowdowns may raise a few eyebrows in the broader US legal sports betting scene, Mississippi, assuming that Louisiana and Florida don’t legalize their own sports betting platform in the immediate future and Washington DC may not sweat their summer downturns like some competing states.
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