While closures and shutdowns across the country over the past few months have taken a toll on many different industries, it seems Colorado’s sports betting scene has benefitted in a big way with what is being described as “pent up demand“.
In the month of July, the state reports an impressive betting handle of $59 million dollars, compared to $38 million in June and just $25 million in May.
With this being just the first three months of legalized sports betting in the state, and the fact sports didn’t fully return until July, these are some very promising numbers for those who have been tracking and watching the industry.
Being Dubbed the Shutdown and Bounce Back
Colorado’s sports betting industry is truly a shutdown and bounce back story at this point, which hasn’t been the case in every single state. This makes the numbers all the more exciting and impressive.
Chalk it up to just bad timing, but Colorado’s new law regarding sports betting went into effect in May, during a time when live sports were on a break and there was very little to bet on. Those who were still keen on betting were forced to look at international sporting events such as table tennis, Korean pro-baseball, and darts.
While numbers for May and June were still in the tens of millions, it truly wasn’t until late-July when all sports had returned that people were able to get a truer look at the market.
In fact, many are calling the months before July as not “earnest” in that they really weren’t a true reflection of how well the industry would do in the state.
When talks around sports betting first began, the hopes were high that it would bring in over a billion in annual wagering. Clearly that won’t be the case for 2020, but that doesn’t mean 2021 can’t be a different story.
In fact, these latest numbers just provide more evidence that there is a huge interest and that big profits could be an attainable goal.
The State Is Hoping for Large Tax Revenues
So just how much of that $59 million sports betting handle did the state see in tax revenue? It worked out to almost $242,000, and the operators themselves took in about $2.4 million in net sports betting proceeds.
Let’s not forget that playoffs for the NBA and NHL were not yet in full-swing, and these can certainly help to boost the amount being wagered.
With all the positives happening in the sports betting industry, Denver-based Democrat Rep. Alec Garnett was quick to point out that even though the numbers are growing and heading in the right direction, it’s just not possible to have accurate projections yet.
Rep. Garnett echoed that it will still be quite some time before a realistic projection report can be generated. But, with that said, he is still looking at the industry as a beneficial market for the state:
“I don’t know who would’ve thought $25 million would be bet in May when no sports were available. It shows we captured the 21st-century model of sports betting.”
Rep. Garnett went on to state that the betting handle in May proved just how popular this past-time has become. And, a big reason why this was so successful is due to the allowance of online and mobile sports betting.
It will be interesting to see how much of an increase Colorado sees in August when the NHL and NBA entered their postseasons, the MLB was heating up and MMA put on some big shows.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
