Football Powers Colorado Sports Betting Handle to $372 Million for August

The Colorado Department of Revenue reported $372.4 million in sports betting handle for August on Tuesday, with NFL and college football action picking up significantly compared to last year.

Overall, handle was up 21.7% compared to last year and 16.2% higher than the $320.4 million reported for July. The "Coach Prime" effect showed no signs of slowing down in Deion Sanders' second season as coach of the Buffaloes, as college football wagering more than doubled from last year to nearly $14 million. There was $29.6 million wagered on all pro football, up 52.4% from the $19.4 million handle reported on NFL events in 2023.

Operators in the Centennial State had a good August, combining for an 8.9% hold to reap $33.2 million in gross sports betting revenue. Nearly $700,000 of that came from Colorado's brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, the third-highest total all time behind the $878,100 won last September and the $705,600 won in November 2020.

Gross revenue was up 28.3% compared to last August but only 2% from July, as the win rate was 1.2 percentage points lower. The state was eligible to levy taxes on $24.5 million in adjusted gross revenue, redirecting nearly $2.4 million into its coffers. Colorado has generated nearly $20 million in state tax revenue from sports betting this year, which is $4.2 million more than last year through eight months.

Football Futures Come Into Focus

In addition to the normal futures wagering bump that comes in August with football, Colorado college football bettors had Week 0 action with the Buffaloes taking on North Dakota State and Colorado State traveling to face then-No. 4 Texas.

Neither team covered to open the season, as Colorado, a double-digit favorite, eked out a 31-26 win over the Bison and the Rams were manhandled 52-0 by the Longhorns. That may have contributed to college football sportsbook revenue declining 22.9% to nearly $1.5 million despite a solid 10.6% hold.

Year 2 of the Sean Payton era with the Denver Broncos looks to have generated some optimism in terms of futures. Pro football revenue for the house totaled more than $5.8 million, a 16.8% increase from last August.

In fact, pro football revenue was the largest source of income from any category excluding parlays. Bettors fared much better in August wagering on baseball compared to July, knocking down the hold more than four percentage points to 4.1% as the $4.2 million in house winnings plunged 46.1%.

A balanced revenue sheet for operators

The only other sport where revenue topped $2 million was in tennis, where the house had a 7.4% hold in claiming $2.9 million from $39.3 million handle. Basketball winnings totaled $1.9 million, and soccer rounded out the top five for sports with $1.8 million.

Table tennis, long a popular niche sport in Colorado, saw all-time monthly highs in revenue and handle. Operators collected $1.4 million in revenue against $17.8 million worth of wagers, good for a win rate just shy of 8%. It was the fourth consecutive month sportsbooks claimed $1 million or more in table tennis winnings.

All-time handle for table tennis, which has been a top 10 fixture in Colorado since launch in May 2020, surpassed $100 million for the year and $450 million overall. The $8.4 million in revenue for the year has already exceeded the full-year 2023 total of $8.1 million.

Operators pasted the public in golf, narrowly reaching seven figures while attaining an 18.3% hold from $5.6 million handle. Mixed martial arts wagering was also a winner for the house, as they collected $880,000 thanks to a 19% win rate from $4.6 million worth of bets.

The Colorado betting public continued to be stubborn outs when it came to parlays, though. Whileh operators won $10.1 million, the 13.3% hold was 2.4 percentage points lower than the year-to-date 15.7% win rate. The $76.1 million wagered on the multi-leg bets was up 42.2% year-over-year, while revenue surged 74.3%.

All in all, the first eight months of 2024 have been good to Colorado sportsbooks. The $295.3 million in gross revenue is up 28% from the same period last year, beating the 17.7% rise in handle to $3.73 billion, and the 7.9% hold for the year is up almost two-thirds of a percentage point.

The Department of Revenue does not disclose monthly handle and revenue figures for operators.