The dregs of summer are officially behind us.
And the Colorado sports betting market bears the fruit of that with a very strong August. For the month, the state brought in $212 million in handle. That is a 16.9% increase over July when the handle was $181.3 million.
There were questions how the market would respond to the start of college football and the NFL, and based on the numbers released by the Colorado Division of Gaming on Monday, very well.
Colorado sports betting by the numbers in August
Despite the fact the total handle jumped in August, the gross gaming revenue was a skosh below July. In August, the gross gaming revenue was $15.2 million. For July, that number was $15.7 million.
The same held true for the net betting proceeds. In August, that came in at $7.1 million, while it was $9.6 million the previous month.
To continue the theme, it happened again with state taxes. The number in August was $726,365. In July, it was $999,110.
And the driver for the Colorado market remains online. In August, 98% of all bets were made online, while 2% came from the 17 retail sportsbooks.
The biggest reason for the decline in gross gaming revenue, net betting proceeds and state taxes despite a bigger handle than July could be month-to-month variance. Some of it may also be explained by the bonus sportsbooks used to kick off the football season.
The numbers from August also brought in some new milestones for Colorado sports betting revenue:
- $3.2 billion in wagering since the launch in May 2020, including $2 billion so far in 2021
- $213.1 million in gross gaming revenue. That includes $137.3 million this year
- $117.4 million in bonus
- $95.7 million taxable revenue
- $10.2 million in state taxes
Top sports wagered on in August
Since there still wasn’t much to wager on, MLB betting once again took the top spot in August. For the month, baseball brought in $69.6 million in bets.
The second spot went to NFL betting at $13.6 million. Given the season hadn’t started yet, that should give you an idea of what’s in store for the next four months. The 3-0 start for the Denver Broncos should definitely add to the betting excitement around this team as well.
Once again, tennis betting was in the top five, followed by soccer and, surprisingly, basketball. And since this is Colorado, table tennis betting is still in the top 10. In August, it came in at No. 6, ahead of both golf and MMA.
Top 5 betting sports
- Baseball $69.6 million
- NFL $13.6 million
- Tennis $13.5
- Soccer $11.5
- Basketball $10.6
| Wagers by sport | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Revenue (GGR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | $69,614,56 | $67,750,139 | $1,864,427 | $2,509,103 |
| Pro Football | $13,597,149 | $13,156,313 | $440,836 | $3,103,751 |
| Tennis | $13,516,224 | $13,450,973 | $65,251 | $613,807 |
| Soccer | $11,450,710 | $11,399,598 | $51,112 | $771,545 |
| Pro Basketball | $10,633,808 | $10,268,629 | $365,179 | $540,689 |
| Table Tennis | $8,139,364 | $8,120,007 | $19,357 | $388,636 |
| Golf | $3,298,285 | $3,263,630 | $34,655 | $367,581 |
| NCAA Football | $2,572,250 | $2,470,906 | $101,344 | $1,335,525 |
| MMA | $2,447,965 | $2,336,424 | $111,541 | $242,698 |
| Boxing | $1,383,411 | $1,340,863 | $42,548 | $248,120 |
| Other | $13,396,671 | $13,310,332 | $86,339 | $426,225 |
| Parlay | $61,867,780 | $61,403,423 | $464,357 | $4,680,664 |
| Total | $211,918,183 | $208,271,237 | $3,646,946 | $15,228,344 |
