Colorado Records a 16.9% Increase in Sports Betting Handle in August

As the summer has officially ended, Colorado’s sports betting market is enjoying the fruit of its labor, as it had a massive rise in revenue, especially for August. The state managed to rake in a $212 million handle for the month, a whopping 16.9% increase compared to July’s handle, which was $181.3 million.

Even though there were some doubts as to how well the residents of Colorado would respond to the start of the NFL and college football season, judging by the aforementioned official numbers released by the Colorado Division of Gaming, betting fans managed to do a great job.

August Sports Betting in Colorado by the Numbers

Even though the handle was much higher, the total revenue in August was actually smaller than in July. In August, Colorado’s GGR was $15.2 million, while July’s GGR was $15.7 million. Net betting proceeds had the same result. August’s net bet proceeds were $7.1 million, while July’s proceeds were $9.6 million. Online sports betting remains the main contributor to the state’s sports betting industry. Data shows that the 17 retail sportsbooks in the state received 2% of the total bets, while the other 95% was made online.

August’s total state taxes reached $726,365, which was smaller than the state tax for July – $999,110. Nevertheless, the money will be put to good use, as water projects in the state are funded by the tax revenue collected from sports betting.

Month-to-month variance is likely the biggest reason why August fell short of July in terms of net betting proceeds, state taxes, and gross gaming revenue. One additional reason might be the Free Bets promotions given by sportsbooks to bettors at the start of the football season.

Colorado’s Sports Betting Revenue in August Reached New Milestones

While some of the numbers for August may be lower than those of July, new milestones were reached. Since the launch in May 2020, $3.2 billion have been wagered on sports, $2 billion of which were wagered in 2021. The total GGR is $213.1 million, $137.3 million of which was made in 2021. Additional numbers include $10.2 million in state taxes and $117.4 in free bets, as well as $95.7 million in taxable revenue.

The most popular sport to bet on in August was MLB, as baseball brought $69.6 million in bets. NFL betting came in second with $13.6 million, which is an amazing achievement since the season didn’t start at the time. That should give an insight as to what is in store for the next four months. The Denver Broncos have had a nice 3-0 start to the season and will add a lot of excitement to betting.

Tennis ($13.5 million), soccer ($11.5 million) and basketball ($10.6 million) closed off the top five sports for wagers. Table tennis came in sixth ($8.1 million), which is no surprise since this is Colorado. This sport was ahead of both golf ($3.2 million) and MMA ($2.4 million).