Colorado Sports Betting Handle Jumps 12.3% In August

Written By Adam Hensley on 10/11/2022
Colorado Sports Betting Report August 2022

Colorado enjoyed a positive uptick in sports betting for the month of August.

The state recorded a handle of $290,107,970 that month – a 12.3% increase from July – according to the Colorado Division of Gaming’s monthly sports betting figures.

August’s sports betting handle in Colorado ended up being a 36.9% increase from August 2021, too. Colorado won 8.91% of their bets placed in August.

Which sports tallied the highest bets in Colorado for August?

Football is king when it comes to Colorado sports betting, but August still marked the offseason both professionally and collegiately.

In turn, baseball dominated the Colorado sports betting market. The sport garnered $117,842,361.59 in total wagers in August.

That’s good for 40.6% of the wagers for the month. The next-highest wager total came from tennis, which accounted for $29,048,335.18 – 10% of the total wagers for August.

Next up was NFL football ($21,549,690.99, 7.4%), basketball ($20,244,718.48, 7%) and soccer ($18,951,644.53, 6.5%). The following sports combined accounted for a total of more than $17 million:

  • Golf
  • College Football
  • Table tennis
  • MMA
  • Volleyball

Parlays made up 18.2% of wagers. “Other” accounted for the final 4%.

 

Colorado online sports betting apps dominated retail

Customers loved betting online through the state’s various sportsbooks. 99% of the wagers placed in Colorado came online. That remaining 1% came from retail wagers.

There are 24 licensed online sports betting operators in Colorado, including:

  • Bally Bet
  • Barstool Sports
  • BetMGM
  • Caesars
  • DraftKings
  • FanDuel
  • PointsBet

There are 15 licensed retail sports betting operators in the state.

Based on 2021 numbers, football bets should skyrocket going forward

It’s not unreasonable to believe football will dominate as the calendar year progresses, starting with September. In September 2021, customers wagered just over $125.7 million on professional football and just shy of $47 million on college football.

That equated to nearly 42% of the total wagers for that month in 2021.

Professional football wagers boomed to more than $171 million in October 2021. College football wagers rose to roughly $52 million.

Colorado sports betting taxes were up 66.83% from July

Sports betting taxes clocked in at $1,882,104 in August – a big jump from the month prior. It’s an even bigger jump when comparing August 2022 to August 2021, which saw a 150.1% increase.

August was the second-highest tax month since the state legalized sports betting in 2020. And more gambling taxes mean a greater reward for Colorado.

Colorado introduced the Legalized Sports Betting with Tax Revenue for Water Projects measure in 2019. This act placed a 10% tax on sports betting profits, which goes toward the Colorado Water Project.

The Colorado Water Plan received roughly $11.4 million from sports betting revenue in fiscal year 2022. That’s roughly a $5 million increase from fiscal year 2021.

Money allocated to Colorado’s Water Plan helps fund:

  • New water supply storage
  • Raw water supply
  • Water conservation
  • Various agricultural projects
Photo by PlayColorado
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Adam Hensley

Adam Hensley is a journalist from Des Moines, Iowa, who currently works for the USA Today Network. His byline has appeared in the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and sites within the USA Today Network. Hensley graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 and spent his college career working for the Daily Iowan’s sports department, both as an editor and reporter.

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