The Colorado sports betting market continues to make waves in the industry. The Centennial State became just the seventh state to surpass the $10 billion overall handle benchmark in the post-PASPA era.
Colorado Continues to Be a Prominent Market in the Industry
A little later, the Department of Revenue reported a handle of $518 million for December to the end of 2022. With 32 months of sports betting under its belt, Colorado joins the elite territory of surpassing the benchmark. The only other jurisdictions that are in that territory are New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, and Indiana.
Online sports wagering continues to be the go-to method for bettors across the state, as 98 percent of the wagers come from the mobile side. According to the numbers, $5.18 million in bets came from 2022 alone, making up more than half of the overall handle.
Colorado’s overall 2022 handle was up 34.7 percent compared to its year-over-year counterpart in 2021. December 2022’s handle also placed fourth on the all-time list, and it was the third consecutive month the state achieved a handle of $500 million or more.
December’s $518 million was 6.2 percent lower than November’s $552.6 million but 12.3 percent higher than December 2021’s $461.4 million. Dan Hartman, director of the Division of Gaming stated,” Reaching the $10 billion mark in total handle, to us as regulators, shows how Coloradans have embraced this new, regulated form of entertainment and is exceeding our original estimates about where the industry would be two and half years after legalization.”
How Did the Sportsbook Operators Do Overall?
Colorado is one of the states with a shallow barrier to entry, which means consumers have many options to choose from. Bookmakers across the state posted an average hold rate of 7.9 percent, which is slightly above the national average.
A gross revenue of $40.9 million was reported for the month, which sat right behind the $51.3 million that was accumulated in September. In 2022, the 6.8 percent hold was nearly a third higher than the previous year, with gross revenue up 65.4% to nearly $352 million.
With promotional deductions factored in, the state was able to levy $25.8 million in adjusted revenue. This led to $2.6 million in tax receipts for the month and $19.6 million for the whole year.
However, there is a new law that will take effect in 2023; the amendment will bring more taxes for the state from the operation. More tax revenue means programs will get more funding than the previous year.
Bettors Found a Loophole in the Sports Betting Markets
While parlays generated nearly $139.1 million in revenue for Colorado sportsbooks in 2022, their 15.2% hold on $915.8 million in handle was the lowest among the six states that provide both handle and revenue numbers. The other five states ahead on the list fell in between the 18.8 percent to 28.3 percent mark.
The Denver Broncos have really struggled this year, but the Denver Nuggets continue to hold first place on the West Coast in the NBA. Nikola Jokic is making a case to win his third MVP in a row, as he is averaging a triple-double through 52 games in the regular season.
Bettors certainly took advantage of the success. Basketball rounded out the podium for revenue with $4.6 million and handled $147.9 million. Despite $1.3 billion in handle in 2022, operators kept only $43 million on a 3.4 percent hold.
