Colorado sports betting revenue down despite handle increase in February

Revenue was down year-on-year from $35.4m in February 2023. Colorado’s monthly total was also 51.8% less than the $53.5m posted in January of this year.

Online betting generated $25.9m in gross gaming revenue in February. However, a $144,982 loss from retail betting pushed the monthly total down slightly.

This decline came despite handle in Colorado climbing 8.6% from $494.4m in February last year to $537.0m. However, this figure was 10.0% behind the $596.7m bet during January.

Online wagers for the month amounted to $533.5m, while a further $3.5m was bet at retail sportsbooks across the state.

Basketball the sport of choice for Colorado bettors

Breaking down the market sport by sport, basketball proved the most popular with Colorado players in February. Some $229.8m was bet on basketball during the month, accounting for some 42.8% of all bets placed.

Tennis wagers reached $47.0m and ice hockey $33.0m. However, despite the NFL hosting its end-of-season showpiece Super Bowl in February, American football bets only hit $29.4m.

Other stand-out sports in February included college basketball, which drew $25.2m in bets, football at $24.7m and table tennis $12.6m. It was also noted that parlay bets during the month topped $105.3m.

Consumers won a total of $511.2m from betting on sports in Colorado, including $507.6m online. 

As for tax, Colorado generated $1.3m in sports betting tax in February. Almost all of this came from online betting, with retail wagering resulting in just $2,509 in tax.