September was a busy month for sports betting and online casino operators licensed in Connecticut, new data reveals.
Licensed Operators Enjoy a Busy Month
Licensed online gambling operators reported a record $943.5 million in bets last month, judging by details released by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection earlier this week. The number of online casino bets last month surpassed the previous $851.9 million record set by operators in August. The $943.5 million in online casino bets translates to $24.3 million in gross revenue for the licensed gambling operators, setting another record.
Besides the online casino, sports betting operators also saw a surge in their offerings last month. Overall, in September, licensed sportsbooks in Connecticut reported $130.5 million in betting handle. This result marked a significant 63% increase when compared to August. In terms of revenue, sportsbooks reported a record $12.9 million last month.
Last month DraftKings enjoyed an increase in customer activity. The company’s online casino operations saw a record increase of nearly 31% when compared to August, hitting $588.4 million. Thanks to this result, the operator reported more than $14 million in gross revenue, marking a record. But last month wasn’t that successful for FanDuel, considering that the operator reported a nearly 12% decrease in online casino activities to $351.7 million.
Online Gambling and Sports Betting Boost Tax Revenue
According to recent figures, more than $7 billion was wagered via online gambling operators in 2022 alone. In the last year, licensed Connecticut operators collected $246.1 million in gross revenue. On the other hand, after operating for 1 year, sports betting operators have seen close to $1.4 billion in the betting handle. This brought them a solid $114.3 million in gross revenue.
Sports betting last month brought nearly $1.8 million in tax revenue for the state. This boosted the total taxes from the activity to $12.3 million. Last month, online gambling operators contributed $3.4 million in taxes, boosting the total taxes from the activity for the last 12 months to $35.2 million.
Connecticut was one of the US states that legalized sports betting last year. Consequently, the state launched its retail market on September 30, 2021, while online operations began on October 12, 2021. Currently, the activity is offered by Tribal casinos, licensed online operators, as well as the CT Lottery.