Colorado Sees Uptick in January Sports Betting Numbers

Colorado continues to be one of the most reliable sports betting states in the bustling U.S. market, though not everything is rosy.

The Colorado Department of Revenue released its report on the overall January sports wagering activity for the Centennial State last week, and it revealed that the state's providers took in more than $500 million for the fourth straight month.

Colorado sports betting saw an uptick in month-over-month activity, but the report also revealed a notable year-over-year decline in sports wagers from January 2022. It appears from the figures released that people in Colorado were not especially interested in Super Bowl wagering this year, possibly due to the misery that their beloved Denver Broncos inflicted on them all season long.

As far as overall revenues go, Colorado's sportsbooks made slightly less than it did in December 2022 but more than in January 2022 when providers posted a record handle haul.

Breaking down the January 2023 handle figures

Colorado sportsbooks reported $547.2 million in sports betting handle in January, taking the overall handle of the state's retail and mobile betting total to over $10 billion. January represented the fourth straight month that Colorado betting sites eclipsed eclipse the $500 million mark and the sixth time overall that the state has reach that milestone.

The January handle represented a 5.6% increase from the $518.1 million the state's sportsbooks took in during December 2022, but didn’t come close to touching a record for the state. Some analysts believed that Colorado was on track to smash its handle record in January.

Year-over-year, Colorado's January slipped about $25 million, or 4.6% from what still stands as a record sports betting haul from January 2022 when the state took in a whopping $573.7 million.

Revenues slipped

Gross gaming revenues from Colorado’s January sports betting numbers revealed a month-over-month dip, thanks in part to a 6.5% hold rate for the state's sports betting providers. That hold rate stood at 7.9% in December.

Colorado sportsbooks profited just under $35.5 million in January, 13.2% less than in December 2022 when provider revenues amounted to $40.9 million However, January's gaming revenues were slightly up year-over-year from the $34.6 million reported in January 2022.

All but $106,592 of the revenue total came from Colorado’s online sportsbooks.

Taxes collected from Colorado's January sports betting revenues came in just under $3,000 higher, or 0.11% than December. Year-over-year, however, tax contributions spiked 78.63% to $2.6 million compared to the $1.4 million in taxes paid by sportsbooks in January 2022.

Super Bowl decline was basketball’s gain

According to a Colorado Department of Revenue, bets on the 2023 Super Bowl dropped 7.47% from 2022 in the Centennial State. Bettors placed $38 million in bets on this year's Super Bowl, down from the $41 million in wagers reported for last year’s Big Game.

Making up for the underwhelming Super Bowl betting numbers was NBA basketball. Colorado bettors have a lot to be excited about with regard to pro basketball, with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets highlighting a big spike in NBA wagers. Basketball was responsible for $178 million of Colorado's overall sports betting handle, up 8.8% from the same period last year.

By contrast, college hoops betting activity dropped an eye-opening 20.4% year-over-year to just $50.2 million. However, college basketball betting came in 51.7% higher than December when just $33.1 million was wagered on the NCAA.