Colorado Sportsbooks Enjoy Record Revenues In January 2024

The legal Colorado sports betting scene is off to a hot start in 2024, which is good news for many of our best sports betting sites.

Colorado sports betting providers saw a record revenue haul during January despite a healthy month-over-month dip in overall sports wagering activity. Year-over-year however, the scene did see an uptick in both handle and monthly revenues for state providers.

Colorado is just the latest state to report a very good start to 2024 in terms of overall sports wagering activity, as Colorado sports betting apps and retail outlets continued to perform well.

First, a look at the overall January handle

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, the Centennial State sports betting providers accepted $596.7 million in wagers in January. That number represents a 16.7% drop from the record handle of $716.4 million in December but a nice 9% year-over-year jump from the nearly $547.2 million in January 2023.

Colorado sports betting sites were responsible for $592.2 million of the overall $596.7 million January handle in Colorado, as residents surely took advantage of numerous Colorado sportsbook promos.

Revenues impress

Despite a slight dip in sports betting handle month over month and a sportsbook hold rate of an average of 9%, Colorado sports betting sites enjoyed their best month ever in terms of monthly revenues.

Colorado sportsbooks reported $53.5 million in gross gaming revenue in January, just the second month ever that the state has raked in more than $50 million in profits. 

The $53.5 million in gross revenues is a healthy 32.1% improvement from the $40.5 million from December despite a $120 million month-over-month drop in sports betting in the state. It is also a year-over-year 50.8% improvement from the $38.5 million reported in January 2023.

Colorado sports betting sites contributed $53.3 million to the overall sportsbook profits, while retail, thanks to an ugly 4.2% win rate, accounted for just $190,400 in January revenues.

A record $38.5 million in taxable, adjusted gross revenue led to just over $4 million in tax contributions for needy Colorado state and local tax coffers. It was the first time the Colorado legal sports betting scene eclipsed $4 million in monthly tax contributions. 

Lifetime taxes paid by Colorado’s best sports betting sites now stands at $65.9 million.

Basketball leads the way, but the NFL contributes, too

In January, when the NFL dominated the sporting landscape conversation, basketball actually led the way in terms of sports betting activity in the state, as $135.3 million was wagered on basketball in the Centennial State.

The NBA contributed $7.1 million in January revenues.

Football betting was brisk as well and provided a decent share of the sportsbook revenues in January, with $86.1 million in NFL bets reported for the January period in Colorado, a nearly 40% year-over-year jump.

NFL betting produced $10.2 million in revenues for Colorado sportsbooks in January from an 11.9% hold.

College football, however, saw the public getting the better of state sportsbooks to the tune of $1.4 million.