Baseball betting stayed hot in August as Colorado sportsbooks started their upward climb into the busier sports season.
Colorado sportsbooks reported $211.9 million in August wagers, according to a monthly state report. That figure is a 16.8% jump from July‘s handle of $181.3 million.
While handle is back on the upswing, revenue dropped approximately 3% to $15.2 million. That represents a 7.2% hold for CO sportsbooks.
July was the first time Colorado sports betting handle dropped below $200 million since August 2020. With football back in full swing, Colorado bettors could challenge January‘s $326.9 million monthly handle record.
The market launched in May 2020.
Baseball leads Colorado sports betting action
Baseball represented 32.8% of Colorado bets in August. In July, the sport made up approximately 34% of wagers.
Sportsbooks held approximately 3.6% of the $69.6 million baseball handle, resulting in $2.5 million in revenue.
Parlays made up 29.2% of bets during the month. Sportsbooks generated $4.7 million in revenue, a 7.6% hold, from parlays.
| Sport | Handle | Revenue | Hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | $69.6 million | $2.5 million | 3.6% |
| Professional Football | $13.6 million | $3.1 million | 22.8% |
| Tennis | $13.5 million | $614,807 | 4.5% |
| Soccer | $11.5 million | $77,545 | 6.7% |
| Professional Basketball | $10.6 million | $540,689 | 5.1% |
| Table Tennis | $8.1 million | $388,636 | 4.8% |
| Golf | $3.3 million | $367,581 | 11.1% |
| NCAA Football | $2.6 million | $1.3 million | 51.9% |
| MMA | $2.4 million | $242,698 | 9.9% |
| Boxing | $1.4 million | $248,120 | 17.9% |
| Other | $13.4 million | $426,225 | 3.2% |
| Parlay | $61.9 million | $4.7 million | 7.6% |
Promo spending rises in Colorado
CO sportsbooks started pushing more bonuses in August as football preseason started up. NFL betting is regularly an opportunity to acquire and retain customers for online sportsbooks.
In July, sportsbooks in Colorado spent approximately $6 million in promotions. That jumped to $8.1 million in August leaving operators with $7.1 million in taxable revenue, sending more than $725,000 in taxes to the state.
Last year, football season saw operators increase promo spending in Colorado throughout the football season. The four months saw a jump in handle, but the state collected just $2.2 million in taxes across the four months.
| Month | Handle | Gross Revenue | Promotional Spend | Taxable Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2020 | $207.7 million | $4.2 million | $7.6 million | ($3.4 million) |
| October 2020 | $210.7 million | $17.4 million | $7.8 million | $9.6 million |
| November 2020 | $231.2 million | $18.3 million | $9.4 million | $8.9 million |
| December 2020 | $284.6 million | $17.2 million | $11.5 million | $5.7 million |
New Colorado sportsbooks open
In August, Tipico Sportsbook launched in Colorado. Earlier this month, Europe-based Tipico announced it selected Denver as the site for a new technology hub.
Colorado does not break out sports betting revenue for individual sportsbooks. There are more than two dozen live in the state.
MaximBet and Sports Illustrated Sportsbook both launched in Colorado this month.
