Sports bettors in the state of Mississippi bet a total of $56.2 million last month. This shows a noticeable month-on-month improvement but is still lagging behind 2021’s results.

Bettors Wagered $56.2M on Spots

Punters in the Magnolia State contributed to a total sports betting handle of $56.2 million in October. This represents a 32.7% year-on-year decline. For reference, the sports betting industry in Mississippi recorded a staggering sports betting handle of $83.5 million in October 2021.

As a result of the lower handle, the revenues of sports betting operators in the country also experienced YOY declines. Overall, sportsbooks in the state earned 15.4% less than they did last year and closed the month with revenue of $7.7 million.

The current results show a significant increase (30.4%) from September 2022’s $43.1 million. However, higher win percentages led to lower revenues, leaving bookmakers with only $7.7 million for the period. This also represents a 12.5% MOM decline. The win rates among players who wagered in October sat at 13.7%.

Coastal Casinos Are the Most Popular

The Magnolia State also reported that coastal casinos are consistently more popular than their competitors. According to statistics, these venues earned $35.8 million, which represents almost 64% of the total bets placed. Thanks to this, coastal casinos had collective revenue of $3.9 million.

Meanwhile, central casinos only took $11.8 million in wagers, accompanied by revenue of $2.3 million. Lastly, northern casinos recorded a sports betting handle of $8.6 million. The northern venues are proving to be less popular than their central and coastal counterparts which is further attested by their lower revenue of $1.5 million.

Taking a look at which sports were the most popular, we see that, unsurprisingly, football continues to be in the lead. Thanks to the hype surrounding the new National Football League season, coastal sports betting operators recorded a handle of $21.7 million in NFL bets. This represents 60% of the total handle wagered at coastal properties. Coastal and northern casinos, on the other hand, recorded an NFL handle of $5.4 million and $4.7 million respectively, which is a comparable percentage.

Sports betting handle in Mississippi has been fluctuating for the last few months. In the four months ended July, the handle was continuously declining, driven by seasonal tendencies. In August, handle started rising and continually improved through October.