Colorado has this week revealed its sports betting numbers for the month of July, in which the state suffered a month-over-month decline in wagers. This drop reflects a national trend for July as the country's sports betting handle fell in line with a decline in sporting events, which includes the NFL off season.
June saw the state record its third-best monthly gross gaming revenue with $19.7m, while July’s fell to $15.7m, marking a 21% decline. Meanwhile, net betting proceeds fell from $11.7m to $9.6m.
July saw the state collect just $999,110 in taxes, a decline from June but an improvement from May’s $635,641.
Speaking on July’s sports betting handle, PlayColorado’s Ian St. Clair said: “In the slowest month of the year for sports betting, Colorado had a decent July. Since most casual bettors put their focus to other aspects of life, and since there’s not a lot to wager on in July, that makes sense. The Colorado sports betting market was helped by the fact Coors Field played host to the MLB All Star game. That helped draw thousands of fans to Denver and new potential customers to sports betting apps.”
In total, Colorado accepted $181.3m in wagers for July according to the information collected by the Colorado Division of Gaming.
The vast majority of these wagers were made online, with mobile sports betting accounting for $179.1m of the state’s total, so only $2.2m of Colorado’s wagers came from retail sportsbooks.
July marked the first time in half a year that NBA failed to top the sports betting charts with the season ending on July 21. Instead, baseball was top of the list with a total handle of $61.1m. The NBA came in second with $27.2m, and soccer followed with the European Championships playing a key role at $14m. Tennis’ total handle was $12m.
“Tax revenue is still lagging for a market this size, and credit from more than $100m in free bets is the main reason why,” added St. Clair. “As the market continues to mature, hopefully tax revenue follows suit. The fact that so many sportsbooks continue to launch in Colorado shows just how attractive the state has become for operators. In the end, increasing competition should help reach new customers and eventually lift the entire market.”
