Colorado Sports Handle Declined but GGR Increased

Statistics show that gambling is one of the preferred pastimes of more and more people in the United States. As the financial results of many markets in the US show, gambling revenues continue to grow as America braces for a second record year in a row. However, there are always some fluctuations as well.  

Colorado Handle Continues to Decline

Colorado, for example, continues to see a gradual decline in its sports betting handle. July was notably the fourth month in a row where the states’ sports wagering kept on declining. To be more precise, sports betting handle for the month was $258.4 million, which is the lowest sum sportsbooks in the state have recorded in 2022. For comparison, in June, sports betting operators earned $313.2 million, meaning the industry experienced a 17.5% month-on-month decline.

According to official data, most of July’s handle was spent on online sports betting. Online punters collectively wagered about $256.4 million on sports, as opposed to retail sportsbooks which barely mustered a handle of $2 million.

If we take a look at which sports performed the best, we can see that baseball was Coloradoans’ preferred discipline to bet on. Almost half of all wagers placed on sports, or $110.6 million, were bet on baseball. Tennis was the second most popular game with $24.4 million of the sports betting handle. Basketball’s share sat at around $23.4 million.

Things Aren’t So Bad After All

Despite the declining GGR, the situation is not as grim as it may sound. On the contrary, July’s results still represent a year-on-year increase from July 2021’s results. Last year, the sports betting industry in Colorado earned $181.3 million in July, which is 42.5% less than the current year’s results.

Furthermore, the industry recorded a noticeable gross gaming revenue increase. In July 2022, the industry posted a GGR total of $20.8 million, which represents a 205.9% month-on-month increase and a 32.5% year-on-year increase. Online betting contributed $14.2 million in GGR, which is 68% of the total revenue.

Lastly, the industry contributed around $1.1 million in taxes in July alone.

In July, Colorado also launched new regulations that aim to curb gray casinos in the state. This includes crypto casinos and unlicensed venues that try to avoid the state’s strict rules on gaming.

In other news, bet365, one of the most influential European sports betting operators, just launched in Colorado after a few months of delay.