All About Colorado Sports Betting Handle And Revenue
The experts at BetColorado.com have developed this guide to help you better understand the terms used when discussing Colorado sports betting revenue and handle. The state releases those figures on a monthly basis.
Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing sports betting in November 2019. It allows for both in-person wagering at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook in a casino, or for wagering through a mobile app or an online site.
Though it’s not one of the more populous states that has legalized sports betting, Colorado offers one of the widest selections of online sports betting apps and websites in the country. Currently, 24 Colorado sports betting apps are licensed in the state.
Colorado Sports Betting, March vs. February
Colorado Sports Betting Handle and Revenue: March 2024
Colorado sports betting operators mostly had a strong month in March, with the NCAA Basketball Tournament and high interest in the NBA helping to boost the numbers.
The March total sports betting handle was $593,094,977, up 10.4% from February ($536,988,261) and 20.0% higher than March 2023 ($494,440,210). As always, the vast majority of wagers were placed on Colorado sportsbook apps – 99.4% of bets came from laptops, desktop computers or mobile devices. The revenue, or net sports betting proceeds, also rose sharply in a month-over-month comparison with
February, though they declined compared to 12 months earlier. Revenue spiked 170.8%, from $11,662,122 the previous month to $31,578,576 in March. In a year-over-year comparison, the revenue was down 10.8% from March 2023 ($35,416,031).
The total sports betting taxes in March amounted to $2,852,592, up 119.1% from February ($1,302,174) and down 8.1% from March 2023 ($3,103,024).
The defending champion Denver Nuggets were a key component in driving NBA betting; about half of the wagers placed (nearly $300 million) were on pro basketball. Other top sports included college basketball ($36,265,377), tennis ($29,264,237), hockey ($22,345,792) and soccer ($21,109,629). Parlay wagering accounted for $125,361,573.
Colorado Mobile Sports Betting History
Colorado Sports Betting Handle and Revenue FAQs
Colorado bettors wagered $5.56 billion $5.18 billion on sporting events in 2023, with $5.515 billion wagered online. The total handle increased nearly 7.3% from 2022, when the state’s sports betting operators took $5.18 billion in wagers in large part to Colorado sportsbook promotions.
Colorado taxes sports betting operators at 10% of their net revenues. The state does allow licensees to deduct promotional credits, but starting this year, operators cannot deduct more than 2.5% of their handle. After June 30, 2024, the percentage allowed will drop by a quarter of a percent for the following three years, down to 1.75% in July 2026.
Colorado releases its sports betting revenue and handle totals monthly. However, there is no set date for the state to publish that data. It usually comes out about 4-5 weeks after the end of each month.
According to the Colorado General Assembly, the state allocates sports betting tax revenue in the following manner. First, the revenue covers administrative expenses for the state Division of Gaming, then 6% is withheld and earmarked in a fund to compensate the state’s land-based casinos for any income lost because of sports betting. The state also sets aside funding for problem gambling services, with the rest of the tax money going to fund the state’s water plan. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the state allocated $12.4 million in sports betting taxes to the Colorado Water Plan.
The Colorado Division of Gaming, an agency within the state Department of Revenue, oversees sports betting operations in the state.
Mobile sports betting is defined as the amount of money wagered through apps on mobile devices or online websites. Many such operators offer Colorado promo codes to customers. In Colorado, online wagering is the preferred method for sports bettors. In 2022 more than 99% of all the money wagered – more than $5.13 billion – was bet online.
The handle is the amount of money bettors wagered for a specific period. This exceeds hundreds of millions each month in Colorado. The net revenue is what sportsbooks including ESPN BET Colorado retain after paying out winning wagers and taking deductions. In 2022, Colorado took in more than $188 million in sports betting revenue.
References
Author
Jim Tomlin has more than 30 years of experience at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition. He now lends his expertise in sports, betting and the intersection of those two industries to BetColorado.com, among other sites.
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