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South Dakota may be new to the sports betting industry, but as a whole, its gaming revenue is up over 3% from the previous year.
According to data from the Deadwood Gaming Association, the total gaming handle sits at over $134 million, up 3.21% from the same period last year.
As for tax revenue, in March, the state collected $1.2 million in gaming tax revenue.
South Dakota gambling is up but sports betting is down
Unfortunately, those anticipating big numbers from South Dakota sports betting will be surprised to learn the industry is down more than 5%.
In February, SD lawmakers decided not to move forward YTD
- Slot machines: $333,006,363 (up 1.94%)
- Table games: $21,314,940 (up 1.06%)
- Sports betting: $2,551,352 (up 2.21%)
- Total handle: $356,872,656 (up 1.89%)
South Dakota per person gambling revenue is higher than in Nevada
One of the more interesting takeaways is the annual revenue generated per person in Mount Rushmore State.
According to Forbes, in 2021, Nevada generated $13.4 billion in gambling with a population of over 3 million. As a result, the annual revenue per person was around $2.35.
By comparison, South Dakota recorded $1.5 million from gambling in 2021, with a population of less than 900,000. Using the same formula, the annual revenue per person in South Dakota was $5.96.
“That’s a surprising statistic to me, and I think that’s probably based on both Deadwood and Nevada being tourism destinations,” said Rodman. “I think it’s more of a correlation between the number of outside of South Dakota visitors that come in than anything else.”
