The sports betting handle in Mississippi improved month over month in September, but remained low when compared to the same period last year, reveals data from the gambling regulator in the state.
Mississippi Gaming Commission Releases September Results
The regulator in charge of gambling activities including sports betting, the Mississippi Gaming Commission, has announced the latest results covering the performance of sports betting operators in September. Overall, the sports betting handle reported by licensed operators in the state last month hit $43.1 million. A month earlier, in August, the sports betting handle improved slightly when compared to July and hit $21.2 million. When the result in September is compared to the betting handle in August, an increase of 103% is observed.
Despite the increase when compared to August, the betting handle last month decreased when compared to the result from September 2021. Last year in September, the sports betting handle hit $54.8 million, which means that the result from last month marked a 21.3% decrease. Still, after multiple months with decreasing betting handle, the results in August and September improved.
Coastal Operators Enjoy Highest Betting Handle
According to a breakdown provided by the Mississippi regulator, the highest sports betting handle was reported by operators within the coastal region. From the $43.1 million in total sports betting handle last month, coastal operators contributed $28.1 million. Not unexpectedly, this result marked a 27.6% decrease when compared to the same period last year when the sports betting handle hit $38.8 million.
On the other hand, central region operators reported $8.2 million in betting handle for September. When compared to the $8,326,087 in sports wagering handle reported in September 2021, this year, a slight decrease was observed. Last but not least, northern operators’ sports betting handle last month hit $6.9 million. When compared to the betting handle reported for the same region in September 2021, this resulted marked a decrease of some $800,000.
Taxable Revenue in September Nearly Flat Year-Over-Year
The $43.1 million in total sports betting handle last month translates to $8,779,943 in taxable revenue. Although last month the betting handle decreased when compared to the same period in 2021, the taxable revenue remained strong. For comparison, in September 2021, despite the higher betting handle, taxable revenue was $8,846,121.
The $28.1 million in betting handle reported by coastal operators, translates to $5.5 million in taxable revenue. Central operators reported $8.2 million in betting handle, which translates to $1.7 million in taxable revenue for September. The lowest taxable revenue last month was reported for northern operators. The $6.9 million in betting handle translated to $1.6 million in taxable revenue for the northern operators last month.