Early playoff exits for local teams might have hurt handle but Colorado sports betting saw revenue jump in June.
Sports betting revenue totaled $19.7 million, up 30.4% from May’s $15.1 million. Meanwhile, handle dropped 7.7% month-over-month to $229.8 million in June, according to the monthly state report.
Promotional spending for Colorado sportsbooks fell a bit in June as well, which helped tax collection. Operators handed out just more than $8 million in promos for June, which dropped taxable revenue to $11.7 million for $1.2 million in tax revenue.
That compares to $635,641 in taxes for May after $9.2 million in promos brought taxable revenue down to $5.9 million.
Early exits, lower Colorado sports betting handle
The second-round losses for the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche are easily seen when comparing handle to May.
Basketball handle fell 13.8% in June to $74.9 million while ice hockey handle dropped 30% to $10.7 million. Revenue also fell for basketball but those Stanley Cup tickets not cashing for Avalanche bettors led to more than $2.1 million in additional hockey revenue for June.
There was also a steep decline in parlays and combinations played. Handle for the category fell 22.3% to $33.9 million in June, but hold improved 4.3 percentage points to 15.9%. That led revenue to grew nearly $350,000 from May.
| Sport | June Handle | May Handle | June Revenue | May Revenue | June Hold | May Hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | $74,884,933 | $86,905,263 | $4,010,907 | $5,375,653 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
| Baseball | $54,554,496 | $49,058,252 | $1,884,821 | $2,220,341 | 3.5% | 4.5% |
| Soccer | $12,757,625 | $9,854,188 | $1,342,171 | $425,152 | 10.5% | 4.3% |
| Tennis | $12,283,524 | $8,213,423 | $852,557 | $678,612 | 6.9% | 8.3% |
| Ice Hockey | $10,679,259 | $15,496,450 | $2,569,716 | $246,547 | 24.1% | 1.6% |
| Table Tennis | $8,678,789 | $10,253,385 | $703,529 | $765,237 | 8.1% | 7.5% |
| Golf | $5,921,355 | $4,797,097 | $864,695 | $(532,778) | 14.6% | (11.1%) |
| MMA | $2,302,772 | $2,500,010 | $308,356 | $430,129 | 13.4% | 17.2% |
| Motorsports | $499,313 | $718,490 | $41,223 | $(17,119) | 8.3% | (2.4%) |
| NFL (June)/Boxing (May) | $306,434 | $758,013 | $276,111 | $21,854 | 90.1% | 2.9% |
| Parlays | $33,918,660 | $43,662,693 | $5,397,102 | $5,050,426 | 15.9% | 11.6% |
| Other | $12,977,526 | $16,750,931 | $1,479,769 | $465,055 | 11.4% | 2.8% |
| Total | $229,764,688 | $248,968,193 | $19,730,957 | $15,129,108 | 8.6% | 6.1% |
Handle, revenue trends could soon flip
Fear not, lovers of high handle: football season is nearly upon the US sports betting industry.
States could start to see handle grow in August through preseason and early college football kickoffs, but the real growth period starts in September for the beginning of the NFL betting season.
Football season always puts glitzy numbers in the handle column, but it is not the best for states that allow operators to deduct promotional credits from revenue. The busy customer acquisition period means Colorado tax revenue will likely be cut down over the next few months.
Consider last year’s promotional spending:
- $7.6 million in September
- $7.8 million in October
- $9.4 million in November
- $11.5 million in December
Those deductions led to just $2.2 million in tax revenue combined for the four months.
