Nevada Casinos Confirmed in November the Industry Is Recovering

The mecca of casino gambling, Nevada, is firmly on its path to full recovery, revealed the November gaming report by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), posting a record 9^th consecutive month of gross gaming win above $1 billion.

Gross Gaming Win

Non-restricted gaming license holders in Nevada reported in November a total gaming win of $1.32 billion to topple the previous month’s figure of $1.22 billion with over 8% and record growth of more than 71% compared to November 2020.

November gaming win was close to beating the $1.36 billion monthly record to date set in July 2020 but ended up beating another record dating back before the Great Depression, when Nevada casinos posted 8 consecutive months of growth between October 2006 and May 2007.

For the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021, Nevada casinos generated $6.23 billion in gaming wins through November, registering a 59% increase on $3.91 billion the industry accounted for during the same period in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2020.

Location-wise, Clark County led the pack with $1.16 billion, more than 87% of the state’s total to post an 81% increase year-over-year, driven by casinos on the Las Vegas Strip which accounted for 65% of the county’s monthly total. Elsewhere, gross gaming win posted increases ranging from 20.4% for other areas to 33.9% in Elko County.

Sports Betting

November also set another record, posting $72 million in winnings to topple the previous high of $61.8 million registered in November 2020. Total wagering in the month registered for the first time a consecutive month of over $1 billion in wagers, totaling $1.1 billion. The bulk of the sports bets was made via mobile betting apps, NGCB senior analyst Michael Lawton noted.

“The continued acceptance of mobile sports wagering by customers is driving these results. This month represented the highest monthly total recorded in mobile (bets) since the board began tracking these wagers in January 2020.”

Michael Lawton, Senior Analyst, NGCB

Commenting on the report, Lawton outlined the sustained rebound of leisure travel and the return of international airline flights from places other than Mexico and Canada among the main drivers behind the sustainable industry recovery in the state. He also accounted for the role special events and entertainment played in driving casino winnings upwards.

His findings were confirmed with the monthly passenger traffic report issued by the newly renamed Harry Reid International Airport, which revealed the airport had handled nearly 4 million passengers in the month.

And while the total number of visitors reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority fell 8% to 3.1 million from $3.4 million in October, the average daily room rate, as reported by the regional tourism agency, increased by 15% to nearly $156.