February was a solid month for South Dakota casinos.
Handle (total amount bet) eclipsed $118 million and revenue was up almost 8.2% year-on-year. While overall casino handle and revenue were up, sports betting revenue at the state’s 11 retail sportsbooks continued to decline.
Gaming Type | Handle | Revenue | Year-on-Year Growth |
---|---|---|---|
Slots | $110,814,312.72 | $9,865,342.30 | 4.22% |
Table Games | $7,133,093.00 | $1,441,044.44 | -1.42% |
Sports Betting | $696,016.94 | -$38,405.75 | 3.85% |
Total | $118,643,422.66 | $11,267,980.99 | 8.19% |
SD casinos’ slots and table games generated over $110 million
Slots and table games are the moneymakers for South Dakota casinos. This past month, they amassed $110.8 million in handle.
Penny slots remained gamblers’ favorite choice, accounting for nearly $90 million of total handle. Slot machine revenue finished the month at $9.9 million.
Year-on-year, slot handle was up 8.6% and revenue inched up more than 4.2% over February 2023.
South Dakota gambled $7 million on table games in February
Blackjack, poker, craps, and roulette brought in $7.1 million last month. Blackjack and poker handle for all but around $800,000 of that handle.
Revenue finished the month at $1.4 million. Annually, the table-game handle was up 3.6% but revenue was down over 1.4%.
Sports betting suffered from end of the NFL season
South Dakota’s 11 sportsbooks left February with a few bumps and bruises. The handle came in at $696,017, down around $170,000 from January and a far cry from South Dakota’s December 2023 gaming handle of $1.1 million.
Revenue was around $38,000 in the negative thanks to NFL betting, which had negative revenue of around $110,601.
Sport | February 2024 Handle |
---|---|
NCAA men's basketball | $276,319.59 |
NFL | $254,748.41 |
NBA | $86,175.59 |
MMA/UFC | $24,923.42 |
NHL | $25,896.04 |
Tennis | $7,922.90 |
Soccer | $5,781.59 |
NASCAR | $5,524.10 |
PGA | $5,498.30 |
MLB | $2,924.50 |
NCAA football | $194.50 |
NCAA baseball | $100.00 |
Boxing | $8.00 |
Total | $696,016.94 |
February’s handle tumble for South Dakota sports betting is typical. Sportsbooks see a lot less action when the NFL season ends.
Also, South Dakota casino revenue relies on slots for its revenue, so seasonal dips in sports wagering revenue aren’t nearly as bad as they would be in states with massive markets such as New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.