Colorado Follows National Trend of Sports Betting Increases in August

The Colorado Department of Gaming August report was finally released this week. It identified a familiar uptick in overall August wagering, which can be largely credited to bettors getting in the NFL and college football mood and placing futures wagers on what is truly the bread-and-butter leagues for the U.S. gaming industry.

Revenues for Colorado sports betting apps and the state's retail providers remained relatively stagnant in August, despite the rise in handle, thanks in part to an underwhelming win rate for Centennial State sports betting providers.

Colorado handle surges 8.9%

According to the August report from Colorado Department of Gaming, sports bettors in Colorado spent $306.1 million with their state sportsbooks in August. It is an 8.9% improvement from the betting activity during the low-point of the state's wagering scene - July.

Year-over-year, Colorado sports betting also saw some improvement. $290.1 million was bet on sports in the state during August 2022, about $15.5 million, or 5.5% less than August 2023. Bettors would be wise to check out the top Colorado sportsbook promos at any point in the year.

Colorado’s best sports betting apps once again dominated the overall wagering activity seen in the state. $304.2 million of the $306.1 million came from internet-based providers, with about $1.9 million coming from the retail side of the Colorado industry.

August 2023 sports betting set a Colorado record for the month. Despite not reaching the levels of NFL season wagering, Colorado sports betting providers still managed to outperform any August since the Centennial State welcomed a broad mobile and retail sports betting platform in August 2020.

Revenues flat

Colorado’ best sportsbooks revenues failed to impress in August despite the jump in overall wagering activity in the Centennial State. A dip in sportsbook hold rate was largely responsible for the underwhelming profit totals for the state's providers.

An 8.4% hold rate for Colorado sportsbooks was reported in August, down from 8.8% in July. The 8.4% is about average for the Colorado scene, far above the underwhelming 3.0% in June but below the record 11.4% win rate in September 2022.

Gross gaming revenues for Colorado sportsbooks came in at $25.9 million in August. It is an ever-so-slight 3.6% month-over-month improvement from the $24.96 million in July, and barely ahead of the $25.859 reported in August 2022.

$18.6 million in net receipts were reported for Colorado sportsbooks in August, allowing for about $1.8 million in taxes to be collected for state and local coffers. That number is up slightly month-over-month from $1.7 million in July, but down year-over-year from $1.82 million in August 2022.

Colorado betting sites, unsurprisingly, were responsible for $25.6 million of the overall $25.9 million in profits. Retail accounted for about $248,732 in profits.

Lifetime, thanks to August’s totals,  the Colorado sports betting industry became the 11th state to surpass $900 million in gross gaming revenue.

Baseball was August’s favorite

With the NFL season yet to start, baseball was the most popular sport to bet on in Colorado during August. Baseball accounted for about 34% of the handle total for Colorado sportsbooks, with tennis second with 9.8% of the handle, basketball with 8.6% and soccer accounting for 6.7% of the wagering activity in the state.

That said, baseball betting declined 10.5% year-over-year to $105.5 million. $117.8 million was wagered on baseball in Colorado in August 2022. Of note, the Boys of Summer saw bets on their sports in Colorado decline year-over-year in every month during the summer of 2023.