Colorado Sportsbooks Hit Revenue High with Nearly $40 Million in November

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Colorado sportsbooks posted record revenue in November, yielding nearly $2 million in taxes for the state, even as the $475 million handle fell short of October’s all-time high. November’s results in Colorado further strengthened a historic surge of sports betting across the U.S., even as one fewer weekend than October meant fewer football games to wager on, according to PlayColorado, which tracks the state’s regulated sports betting market.

"Every market has grown significantly over the last few months, but few have performed better than Colorado since the football season began in September," said Ian St. Clair, lead analyst for PlayColorado.com. "November was a sort of litmus test for how sustainable the growth will be once football season ends because there were fewer games played than in October. A jump in basketball betting is an excellent sign for sportsbooks."

Bettors poured $475.4 million into Colorado’s online and retail sportsbooks in November, falling 3.3% short of the record $491.5 million in wagers reached in October, according to data released Monday by the Colorado Division of Gaming. Despite the modest month-over-month drop, November’s average betting volume actually stayed level with the 31 days of October at $15.85 million per day.  Year-over-year volume surged 105.6% from $231.2 million in November 2020. Much of those wagers were made through online sportsbooks, which generated $469.0 million, or 89.6%, of Colorado’s total handle.

Sportsbooks shattered the state’s gross revenue record with $36.8 million in November, 28.5% from the previous record of $28.6 million set last month. Year-over-year, gross revenue was up 100.4% from $18.4 million in November 2020.

Net sports betting proceeds rose to $19.3 million from $9.8 million in October, breaking the record of $11.7 million set in January. That yielded $1.98 million in state taxes, the most ever in a single month in Colorado.

"Sportsbooks have been aiming to capitalize on the busiest period of the year to broaden their customer bases," said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com network, which includes PlayColorado.com. "The strategy has worked, as revenue for sportsbooks and for the state has grown even as promotional spending has remained near all-time highs."

November’s results came in spite of one fewer weekend for football compared with October. Pro football generated $140.3 million in wagers in November, which was down from $171.2 million in October. And college football slowed to $29.4 million from $51.2 million in October.

A hot run by the Denver Broncos in November helped stem the loss of one fewer weekend of football. But it’s basketball that mostly made up for the loss of football inventory. Pro basketball wagering jumped to $124.7 million in November from $63.3 million in October. The first month of college basketball generated another $29 million. Ice hockey ($14.0 million) and soccer ($11.2 million) contributed significant action, too.

"Sportsbooks have made significant gains in customers this fall, and bettors have become increasingly comfortable with diverse forms of betting," said Ian St. Clair, lead analyst for PlayColorado.com. "Colorado’s bettors already have a diverse interest in sports beyond football. But operators have an opportunity over the next few months to leverage the growth made during football season into more forms of sports betting."

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Colorado, visit PlayColorado.com/revenue.

About the PlayUSA.com Network:
The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches (including PlayColorado.com, PlayIndiana.com, and PlayNJ.com) produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.

Contact:
Zack Hall, Catena Media, 1-775-338-0745,
326870@email4pr.com

SOURCE PlayColorado.com