Gross gaming revenue from Colorado sports betting increased 206.5% year-on-year thanks to a much improved hold, while there was a significant increase in amounts wagered on soccer that coincided with the start of the second Copa América held in the US.
Handle for June increased 12.8% year-on-year to $350.4m according to the Colorado Division of Gaming. Online handle made up $348.9m of the total with $1.5m wagered through Colorado retail sportsbooks.
While baseball ($104.5m) and basketball ($59.2m) generated the highest handle, soccer enjoyed a particularly strong month. Amounts wagered on soccer more than doubled to $27.6m, with the Copa America kicking off from 20 June, while table tennis also increased significantly to $15.1m.
High hold leads to revenue spike for Colorado sports betting
After winnings of $322.2m were paid out, gross gaming revenue came to $28.2m for the month, an 8.05% hold. That far surpassed the $9.2m in GGR and 2.97% hold recorded for June 2023.
Once free bets and federal taxes were removed net proceeds from sports betting revenue for June came to $19.2m, a massive jump from the $1.97m reported for the prior year.
From the state’s 10% levy on net proceeds, the Colorado Department of Revenue collected $1.8m in tax revenue from sports betting in June. Colorado online sportsbooks made up the vast majority of this figure, with just $7,130 in taxes coming from retail betting.
