Bettors Took Some Chin Music In MLB In April
If you bet on baseball, you may find this news hard-hitting: Sportsbooks whooped our collective butts in April.
The Nevada Gaming Commission's revenue numbers show that sportsbooks won $10.16 million in MLB in the Silver State for the Sportsbook month of the season. That makes it the best April ever for books and the third-best month overall for baseball (according to their numbers going back to 1988).
(The best two months were last July when they won $11.8 million and May of 2015 when they won $10.7 million.)
It was part of a great month overall for sportsbooks in April with a win of $15.1 million and a hold (or win) of 5.25 percent. That win is up nearly 12 percent versus April last year and to me it says sports betting continues to grow at a rapid rate when we also consider the House win was down 6.75 percent overall on gaming for the month.
The biggest blows to bettors came in MLB and 'other' sports, which is anything besides football, basketball or baseball. The House won $5.6 million there, which is the best month by far in that category since April of last year and the second-best month since May of 2015.
April is typically a great month for the 'other' sports category each year. Michael Lawton, senior research analyst with the Nevada Gaming Commission, told me it was likely due to the Masters and soccer. One operator told him that golf typically gets three times more volume than it does in January, February and March. The operator also said they added four international leagues this year — Spanish, French, Italian and German, which provided a 'huge lift' in soccer action.
Basketball earned a profit of $3.7 million in April for sportsbooks for a hold of 3.03 percent but the win is down 22.4 percent compared to last year.
Bettors shouldn't hang their heads too much about the baseball loss if you were among those who didn't have a great month. The Sportsbook month on the diamond is often a good one for the House and it won $8 million last year on a hold of 6.43 percent.
I have a feeling May might bring a better story. Faves are winning at 55.4 percent in MLB overall now and the OVER/UNDER went 208-177-2 in May up to the final day of the month.
Follow me on Twitter @JonnyOddsShark
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