Colorado Sees Uptick in January Sports Betting Numbers

Although not everything is perfect, Colorado remains one of the most dependable states for sports betting in the competitive U.S. market.

Last week, the Colorado Department of Revenue published its report on the sports betting activity in January for the Centennial State, showing that the state’s providers generated over $500 million for the fourth consecutive month.

Sports betting in Colorado experienced an increase in activity compared to the previous month, but there was a significant decrease in sports wagers from January 2022 when looking at year-over-year data. The report suggests that there was less interest in Super Bowl betting in Colorado this year, potentially influenced by the disappointing performance of the Denver Broncos throughout the season.

Colorado’s sportsbooks generated slightly lower overall revenues in December 2022 compared to January 2022, when they achieved a record handle haul.

Breaking down the January 2023 handle figures

In January, Colorado sportsbooks saw a total sports betting handle of $547.2 million, contributing to the state’s overall betting total of over $10 billion from both retail and mobile platforms. This marked the fourth consecutive month that Colorado sports betting sites surpassed the $500 million mark, and the sixth time overall that the state achieved this milestone.

In January, the state’s sportsbooks saw a 5.6% increase in handle compared to December 2022, reaching $518.1 million. While it didn’t break the state’s record, analysts had high hopes that Colorado would set a new handle record in January.

In comparison to the record-breaking sports betting revenue of $573.7 million in January 2022, Colorado saw a decrease of $25 million, or 4.6%, in January of the following year.

Revenues slipped

Colorado’s January sports betting revenues showed a decrease compared to the previous month, with a 6.5% hold rate for the state’s sports betting providers, down from 7.9% in December.

In January, Colorado sportsbooks earned a profit of nearly $35.5 million, which was a decrease of 13.2% compared to December 2022 when revenues reached $40.9 million. Nonetheless, January’s gaming revenues were slightly higher than the $34.6 million reported in January 2022.

Colorado’s online sportsbooks generated $106,592 in revenue, accounting for nearly all of the total revenue.

Tax revenue from Colorado’s January sports betting revenues increased by just under $3,000, or 0.11%, compared to December. However, year-over-year tax contributions saw a significant spike of 78.63%, totaling $2.6 million in January compared to the $1.4 million paid by sportsbooks in January 2022.

Super Bowl decline was basketball’s gain

The Colorado Department of Revenue reported a 7.47% decrease in bets on the 2023 Super Bowl compared to 2022 in the Centennial State. Bettors wagered $38 million on this year’s game, a decrease from the $41 million placed on last year’s Super Bowl.

NBA basketball helped boost Colorado’s sports betting numbers following the underwhelming Super Bowl bets. Colorado bettors can look forward to exciting pro basketball action, particularly with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets driving a significant increase in NBA wagers. Basketball accounted for $178 million of Colorado’s total sports betting handle, marking an 8.8% increase from the previous year.

On the other hand, there was a significant decrease of 20.4% in college basketball betting activity compared to the previous year, with only $50.2 million being wagered. Nonetheless, there was a substantial increase of 51.7% compared to December, when only $33.1 million was bet on NCAA basketball.