Louisiana witnessed a significant increase in sports betting handle and revenue compared to the previous year during the month of May. Contrastingly, New Hampshire emerged with lower revenue despite an uptick in player spending.
In Louisiana, the overall expenditure on sports betting for May reached a substantial $256.7 million (£203.1 million/€240.1 million). This figure marks a 31.6% increase from the same period last year. A breakdown of these numbers reveals that $238.3 million was wagered online, while the remaining $18.4 million was spent at retail sportsbooks.
A notable event in the state was the signing of Angel Reese, a former Louisiana State University (LSU) national basketball champion, to the WNBA team Chicago Sky in May. This event likely spurred increased betting activity within the state throughout the month.
In terms of gross gaming revenue from sports betting, Louisiana saw a total of $33.5 million, an 18.8% rise from the previous year and slightly higher than the $33.0 million recorded in April. Online betting, in particular, accounted for $31.2 million of the total sports wagering revenue in May, while retail market revenue came in at $2.3 million.
Parlay betting was the most lucrative category across both online and retail channels. It drew $21.3 million in online revenue and $1.4 million in retail revenue. In terms of single sports, basketball emerged as the highest revenue generator for online betting with $2.2 million, whereas baseball claimed the top spot in the retail sector with a revenue of $479,857.
Tax contributions from these activities were also noteworthy. Online betting generated $5.5 million in tax revenue in May, while retail betting added $244,950 to the state’s coffers.
Considering the year-to-date figures, the total amount wagered in Louisiana reached a staggering $3.12 billion during the 10 months up to the end of May. This total includes $2.85 billion in online bets and $275.6 million in retail wagers. In terms of revenue, the overall market accumulated $361.8 million for the same period.
. Of this, $333.4 million came from online betting, while $28.5 million was sourced from retail wagering.
Turning our attention to New Hampshire, the total spending on sports betting in May hit $58.0 million. This figure is 11.3% higher than the previous year but represented a 3.2% decline from April. This also marked the second consecutive month of decline in the state. Among these figures, $51.7 million was attributed to online betting, while retail books accounted for $6.3 million.
Revenue-wise, New Hampshire reported a total of $6.5 million in May. Despite higher player spending, this figure was 7.1% lower than last year, although it was a 22.6% increase from April’s figures, which had a higher handle. Of the total revenue generated in May, $5.9 million originated from online betting, while the retail sector contributed $652,270.
The tax revenues for New Hampshire were also substantial. The state generated $2.8 million in tax revenue from sports betting during the month. Among these figures, $2.5 million was derived from online wagers, and retail bets contributed $293,521.
Year-to-date statistics for New Hampshire paint an insightful picture. Over the 10 months leading up to May, the total amount wagered reached $703.7 million. This sum is comprised of $616.9 million from online wagers and $86.8 million from retail bets. In terms of revenue for the same period, the total generated hit $71.5 million, which includes $64.5 million from the online sector and $7.0 million from retail.
Thus, while Louisiana’s sports betting market showed robust growth in both handle and revenue in May, New Hampshire experienced a decline in revenue despite an increase in player spending. The contrasting performance in these two states offers an intriguing snapshot of the sports betting landscape in the United States as it continues to evolve.
