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Regulated sports betting in Wyoming for September 2023 stood as tall as the mountains of Grand Teton National Park. The reason why is no tall tale, however. The cause of the new record in dollars gambled for a single month has a clear cause.
At the same time, the new record represents tremendous growth in interest for people in Wyoming. There are still some reasons to reserve enthusiasm about the piqued interest. A broader view colors September’s betting activity as a preamble.
Wyoming residents stake record amount to sports bets
Per the Wyoming Gaming Commission’s September report, legal online sports betting in the state was busier in September 2023 than it ever has been. Bettors gambled over $19.2 million. That’s not only a new single-month record but comfortably so.
The previous high had been $17.2 million in October 2022. The difference between that and the new standard amounts to around 10.3%. Furthermore, September 2023’s betting total represents a 29.5% increase from the same month in 2022.
While the amount of money that Wyoming’s four licensed online sportsbooks took in was historic, the share of that money that they won represented a 21% year-over-year decline. It was respectable in terms of the market’s history, though.
Books kept around 7.9% or $1.5 million in September. Since betting on sports online went live in Wyoming in September 2021, that ranks sixth among individual months. October 2022’s $2 million remains the single-month high for Wyoming sportsbooks.
Seasonality played a part in both the increased betting and lower gross revenue. Taking a mountain-top view at Wyoming sports betting suggests September may not be the market’s actual summit.
Sportsbooks might see even higher handles soon
In both 2021 and 2022, Wyoming residents gambled more money on sports during the last three months of the calendar year than they did in September. The margins have shrunk over time as sports betting has become more common in the state.
While December 2021 represented a 49.2% uptick from September of the same year, December 2022 was just a 10% increase from September 2022. Thus, despite the return of the NFL regular season and accompanying sportsbook promotions in September 2023, Wyoming’s best may be yet to come.
At the same time, any increases in October through December of this year could be small. Wyoming’s ceiling for online sports betting could be about $20 million a month. If that is the case, sportsbooks’ next objective will be to win more of that money.
For three of the four books, the aim will also be to eat away at DraftKings’ dominance in Wyoming.
DraftKings is king of the sportsbooks once more
September 2023 was no outlier in terms of which of the four books won the race to the top. DraftKings accounted for 62% of the money gambled during the month.
That’s been a consistent theme in Wyoming. For example, August’s gaming revenue in Wyoming showed that DraftKings took 64.9% of the total.
Unseating DraftKings in terms of popularity will prove a challenge for either BetMGM, Caesars, or FanDuel. That may not be the aim for those books, though, and being the most popular choice doesn’t necessarily translate to a healthier bottom line.
Wyoming would also love to see all four books improve upon those bottom lines, as tax revenue for September came to $51,752. That’s a 55.2% drop from the same month in 2022. The combination of aggressive promotions and Wyoming’s tax exemptions for books played a part.
Bettors played their part in September. While they reached a new high, they might keep climbing in the months to come.
