November figures show that Colorado sportsbooks posted record revenue, yielding almost $2m in taxes for the state, despite the $475m handle falling short of October’s all-time high.
According to PlayColorado, November’s results within the state “further strengthened a historic surge” in sports betting across the US, even as one less weekend than October, resulting in less fixtures to wager on.
“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.
“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 contributed $475.4m into Colorado’s online and retail sportsbooks in November, falling 3.3 per cent short of the record $491.5m in wagers reached in October, according to data released by the Colorado Division of Gaming.
Despite the month-over-month drop, November’s average betting volume stayed level with the 31 days of October at $15.85m per day.
Year-over-year volume surged 105.6 per cent from $231.2m in the same period 12 months ago. Much of those wagers were made through online sportsbooks, which generated $469m, or 89.6 per cent, of Colorado’s total handle.
Sportsbooks shattered the state’s gross revenue record with $36.8m in November, up 28.5 per cent from the previous record of $28.6m set one month earlier. Year-over-year, gross revenue was up 100.4 per cent from $18.4m in November 2020.
Net sports betting proceeds rose to $19.3m from $9.8m in October, breaking the record of $11.7m set in January. That yielded $1.98m in state taxes, the most ever in a single month in Colorado.
“Sportsbooks have been aiming to capitalise on the busiest period of the year to broaden their customer bases,” added Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.
“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 $140.3m in wagers in November, which was down from $171.2m in October. Moreover, college football slowed to $29.4m from $51.2m in October.
St. Clair added: “Sportsbooks have made significant gains in customers this fall, and bettors have become increasingly comfortable with diverse forms of betting. 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.”
