The Colorado Department of Revenue reported sports wagering handle totaling $526.6 million for October, marking the third time the Centennial State has cleared the half-billion dollar total in 30 months of wagering.
The October figure ranks behind only the $573.7 million from January, and the only other time Colorado eclipsed $500 million in accepted bets was in March at $505.6 million. Colorado also became the seventh state to surpass $9 billion in all-time handle in the post-PASPA era and the seventh to clear $4 billion handle for the 2022 calendar year.
The pedestrian 6.9% hold resulted in operators claiming $36.5 million in gross revenue. That win rate was second lowest among 24 states to report October numbers, currently ahead of only Nevada (6.2%) — with Illinois, Arizona, and Wyoming yet to publish.
There were $15.4 million in promotional credits and other deductions reported, leaving the state eligible to tax slightly less than $21.1 million in adjusted revenue. More than $2.3 million entered state coffers for October, marking the first time since launch in May 2020 tax receipts totaled more than $2 million in back-to-back months.
The $14.5 million in tax revenue this calendar year is running $5.5 million ahead of last year’s pace and represents close to half the $29.2 million generated since the first bets were accepted.
Parlays deliver for house
October #SportsBetting numbers for $Colorado via DoR, a 🧵. Han/Rev/WR by category (1/4)
🏀: $85.67M/$3.63M/4.24%
🏈 (pro): $171.64M/$8.25M/4.81%
🏓: $8.2M/$481.3K/5.87%4/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 2, 2022
After September’s rout by the house that resulted in a record $51.3 million in gross revenue, October’s numbers were calm by comparison. Nearly half the gross revenue originated from parlays, from which the house claimed $16.8 million in winnings from $92 million wagered. The 18.3% hold, while high, was still nearly 7 full percentage points lower than in September.
The public made inroads betting NFL games as operator revenue was cleaved nearly in half to $8.2 million compared to the $16 million in September. Handle bounced 17.8% higher to $171.6 million, bettering the all-time mark in that category by slightly more than $400,000.
Bettors fared even better when it came to college football, coming out $1.6 million ahead on $50.4 million handle. Perhaps bettors faded the one-win Colorado Buffaloes, who lost three of four games during October while covering just once in those contests.
NBA betting took both final podium spots for handle and revenue, totaling $85.7 million handle and $3.6 million in operator revenue. Baseball was another notable source of revenue at $3.1 million, followed by tennis at $2.2 million and soccer at $1.4 million.
Table tennis had a noticeable bounce-back in handle to $8.2 million, the highest total since $9.2 million last December and a 44.4% increase from September. The $481,271 in operator revenue lifted the all-time total in the niche sport past the $15 million mark.
Year-over-year metrics positive
September’s historic revenue numbers have created an almost impossible standard to match, so it was not surprising gross revenue tailed off 28.9% month-over-month while adjusted revenue dropped 33.4%. The month-over-month and year-over-year handle figures, however, were far more positive, with increases of 17% compared to September and 7.2% versus October 2021.
The year-over-year adjusted revenue numbers revealed the largest uptick, with the $21.1 million more than double the $9.8 million generated from the same month last year.
The $4.1 billion handle through the first 10 months of the year is a 41.2% increase from the comparable period in 2021. The $273.5 million in gross revenue represents a 45% upswing, while the $138.7 million in adjusted revenue is 75.7% better.
