Sports Betting Handle and Revenue See Significant Drop in Colorado During February

Colorado was unable to build off a strong month of January as both sports betting handle and revenue came back down to Earth in February.

After a strong January in the Centennial State, legal sports betting came back to earth in February with disappointing monthly numbers.

Colorado's Department of Revenue announced that the state's retail and online betting sites handled $425.1 million in wagers in February, a 22.3% monthly drop. On top of that, the hold percentage fell to 5.3%, cutting into the state’s tax revenue.

Brick and Mortar sportsbooks felt the brunt of the damage. Their handle saw a 29% decline compared to January, and their hold percentage continued to fall from 2.1% in January to just 1.4% in February — cutting their gross revenue in half.

The state’s tax revenue took a hit too. Colorado’s Water Implementation Cash Fund (which is filled from sportsbooks) saw their revenue fall over 50% in February to $1.2 million. 

Kings of the court

Despite going up against the Super Bowl, basketball was Colorado sports betting's most popular sport in the month of February (not including parlays). 

Professional basketball led the way with $155.6 million in handle, and college basketball was second with $68.1 million. When looking at just straight bets (vs. parlays/combinations) 63.7% of all Colorado bets were made on basketball. The NFL, tennis, and hockey rounded out the state’s Top 5 sports by handle. 

For those betting online, despite the drop in hold percentage, nearly every sport was a net positive for the sportsbooks. The only sport where the online books paid more than they took in was on football.