NGCB: November Casino Revenue Down 17.75%, Betting Unchanged

November gaming revenues in Nevada continued to decline year over year, the monthly report released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) revealed Tuesday, posting $771.16 million generated during the month by casinos statewide. Las Vegas Strip casinos accounted for $349.8 million in revenues, a 32.46% decrease year-over-year.

Decline in Revenues Continued

The November total revenue figure represents a 17.75% decrease from the $937.53 million Nevada casinos posted for the same month in 2019, and a second straight month of decline, but compared to the 19.5% slump of the industry in October, gives hopes that the rate of decrease is slowing down.

For the fiscal year starting July 1, 2020, which represents 5 full months of operations through November 31, 2020, gambling revenues statewide posted 21.64% drop compared to the same period the prior year, while casinos on the Strip sank 36.11% year-over-year.

Strip Decline Weighs on Total

The decrease in revenues for the Strip casinos for November which is by tradition a busy month featuring the 4-day Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, was due to several factors among which the low footfall due to the 57% slump in airline traffic, as well as the reduced maximum capacity on casino floors to 25% by Gov. Steve Sisolak in an attempt to tackle the resurgence in new daily coronavirus cases.

Las Vegas Strip revenues were down across almost all gaming verticals, led by table games influenced by the drop in baccarat, 45.3%, but even excluding the revenue from the game that usually drives total gaming numbers, table game revenues declined by 32.1%. Slot machines generated 29.2% less, while wagering was off 33.4%.

According to NGCB senior research analyst Michael Lawton, since the re-opening of the casinos in June, Strip properties accounted for 87.1% of the decrease, as excluding the Strip, Nevada revenues were down only 7.4%. Casinos were forced to close down mid-March to support statewide efforts to curb the further spread of the coronavirus infection.

Unlike the Strip properties, casinos in downtown Las Vegas posted a modest growth of 1.74%, to $52.99 million, helped by the first full month of operations for the newly-opened Circa Casino Resort which opened doors in the end of October, while casinos on the Boulder Strip posted 18.2% increase to $68.57 million.

The biggest increase was registered from casinos in the Balance of Washoe County, 50.7%, but relatively low in nominal numbers, $7.19 million, as Reno, the biggest nominally-wise, posted 6.2% decrease, to $47.23 million.

Sports Betting Revenues Holding Steady

Sports betting handle posted a single-month record of $61.8 million in November, almost double the amount Nevada sportsbooks collected a year ago, influenced by the all-time record handle from wagers on football, $56 million.

Sportsbooks took $609.6 million in wagers, modestly down compared to last year, as football bets accounted for $502 million, having an extra Sunday and not having to compete with hockey and basketball. 56.4% of all bets placed during November were through mobile wagering.