The football season keeps bringing in big money for Mississippi sports betting.
November was the best month of 2022 for sports betting handle (or amount wagered) at sportsbooks in the Magnolia State, with only one month, more than a year earlier, standing above it.
The sports betting handle last month was $73,605,361, a 31.0% hike from October, when it was $56.2 million. November’s total was also 21.5% higher than November 2021 ($60.58 million).
November was the No. 2 handle of all-time since Mississippi launched sports betting in summer 2018, behind only the $83.5 million in October 2021.
The revenue, however, decreased in both month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons. The Mississippi October sports betting revenue was $7.69 million, 33.8% higher than the $5,087,585 in November. Last month’s figure was also down 46.6% from November 2021, when the state’s riverboat casinos brought in $9.5 million in revenue from sports wagering.
Mississippi Sports Betting, November vs. October
Holidays Bring Good Sports Betting Opportunities
In a state with no major pro sports teams and where SEC football is a topic 24/7/365, it’s no surprise that autumn is by far the biggest season for sports betting, even more than in most states.
November brought the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving Night, with Mississippi State beating rival Mississippi, 24-22, to ensure that both teams finished 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC. Sadly, it was the last Egg Bowl for MSU’s head coach, as Mike Leach died this month at age 61.
With the chase for NFL playoff spots also heating up, it’s no wonder sports betting handle in November was more than triple the amounts from July and August.
Mississippi Casino Gaming Drops From October
The slots drop, or handle, in November was $2.046 billion, according to figures from the Mississippi Gaming Commission. That was a 5.1% decline from October’s $2.156 billion. The win from slot machines was about $157 million last month with a hold of 7.67%.
The Coastal Region took in more than $1.3 billion in slots handle, followed by $485 million in the state’s Northern region casinos and $259.6 million in the Central Region.
As for table games, the drop was down 1.5%, from $158.940 million in October to $156.489 million in November. Again, Coastal casinos had the majority of the handle at $113.65 million, followed by Northern ($33.62 million) and Central ($9.2 million).
