Colorado Sports Betting Taxes Exceeded $4 Million In January

Written By Cole Rush on 03/13/2024

The Colorado Department of Revenue released its first batch of 2024 numbers for sports betting. The state reached a big milestone, marking the first month that taxes on sports betting exceeded $4 million.

Colorado by the numbers

Colorado imposes a 10% tax on sports betting operators. The money raised goes to the state’s water fund, dedicated to protecting water resources and ensuring everyone has access to enough water.

The January numbers look like this:

  • Total handle: $506,685,967.76
  • Total taxes: $4,128,369.29

Handle jumped 16.71% compared to December 2023. That increase was 9.05% compared to January of 2023. Taxes saw a 12.11% month-over-month bump and a whopping 59.61% increase from last January.

In May 2023, taxes from Colorado sports betting surpassed the $3 million mark for the first time. With continued expansion and new sportsbooks such as Betr now live in the state, we could continue to see increases in future years.

Will Colorado raise its sports betting taxes?

As of this writing, the 10% tax rate imposed on operators is on the lower end compared to other legal betting markets across the country. Generally, operational taxes average between 15% and 19%. In contrast, New York state has one of the highest tax rates in the country at 51%.

Last year, we speculated that Colorado could follow in Ohio’s footsteps and raise its taxes. The Buckeye State bumped tax rates from 10% to 20% just two years after launching online sportsbooks. We suggested Colorado might follow suit, but it has yet to show signs of a coming tax increase.

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Cole Rush

Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. Most of those words can be found in gambling publications such as PlayIllinois, iGaming Business, Gaming Today, Bonus.com, MidwestSharp.com, ICE 365, and IGB North America. Cole also covers pop culture and books for Tor.com and TheQuillToLive.com. Cole has more than eight years of experience writing about gambling and entertainment.

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