Nevada Sees March Betting Handle Jump but Profits Fall

Nevada’s sports betting handle hit $859.5 million in March 2025, marking the highest monthly total since November 2023. College basketball led the charge, driven by March Madness betting, which pushed overall wagers past every month of the last NFL season—even without football contributing.

Good to know:

• Nevada sportsbooks handled $859.5 million in March, up 9.4% from March 2024.
• Online bets made up over 70% of total wagers with $612.8 million.
• Sportsbook profits fell despite the high handle, with a 25% drop in revenue year-over-year.

The total handle jumped 9.4% compared to March 2024, and college basketball alone produced $255 million more in wagers than February, the month of the Super Bowl. Betting on basketball reached $665.6 million for March. Still, the numbers did not translate to higher profits for sportsbooks.

Revenue for the month came in at just $22.3 million, down from $29.8 million the previous March. That marks a 25% year-over-year dip. It also represents one of the lowest win rates in recent history, with sportsbooks holding just 2.6% of the total handle. Over the past three-plus years, Nevada sportsbooks have recorded a hold rate below 3% only three times.

Online sportsbooks brought in $15.6 million of the total revenue, a 32% decrease from the previous month. A big part of the issue came from customer-favored results during the NCAA tournament. With few upsets, many bettors succeeded with moneyline parlays. These multi-leg bets alone resulted in a loss of $168,000 for operators.

Comparing historical data, March 2025 saw less revenue than any March since 2020 despite a strong handle. For context, March 2022 had a similar handle of $862.8 million but earned $36.9 million in revenue. March 2023 had $43.8 million in profits on $830.5 million in wagers.

Tax revenue for Nevada also fell. In March 2025, the state collected $1.5 million from sportsbooks, well below the $2.8 million generated in February.

Outside basketball, the “other” sports category contributed $6.6 million to sportsbook revenue. Hockey added another $1 million, and early-season baseball activity brought in $665,000.

Football had an unusual impact in March. Operators lost $10.3 million on the sport, only a month after Super Bowl LIX helped sportsbooks post record profits.