The World Cup Soccer Competitions being held in Brazil this year helped June to show the biggest handle ever recorded in Las Vegas sportsbooks during the month of June. During what is usually the slowest time of the year out in Nevada, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board says that revenues from what they classify as ‘other sports’ which includes Soccer, helped to set new all time high betting records for the state this year.
Of course ‘other sports’ include Hockey, Tennis, Golf, Auto Racing and MMA action. All together they accounted for $5.9 million in winnings for Nevada sportsbooks in June, but the big boast in income came principally from the World Cup games. The 2014 Soccer Championships were so good for Vegas this time around mostly thanks to having the matches taking place during the afternoon and early evening hours for us back in the USA.
In the past the World Cup has been held in a time zone which had the matches being played at 4 am our time and no one was really that interested. With the inclusion of Team USA and the Mexican ‘El Tri’, there were many more supporters of the game of Soccer than ever before seen in this country.
In fact the $5.9 million won in June on ‘Other Sports’ marked a whopping 116.3% increase over the same period in 2013. The $53.4 million wagered on ‘Other Sports’ showed an even greater increase of 184.3% over last season’s numbers.
Michael Lawton of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board said in an interview, “It would be safe to say the majority of these increases were due to betting on the World Cup.”
As it turned out, even the sportsbook operators were surprised by the amount of wagering that took place during the World Cup this year. As would be expected, the Men’s USA National Soccer Team drew the most interest and the highest wagers of any other. Before this World Cup came around, the sport of Soccer was not all that popular in the USA. Having a good team this time surely helped get the spirits up for the matches.
Some big books on the Las Vegas Strip even reported ‘NFL Football-like’ crowds at the books on the days of the big matches when Team USA was playing. There was also a great deal of support for the Mexican National Team on the Strip.
So, all of a sudden, the lowly sport of Soccer is now a big favorite out in Nevada.
