When the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, it was predictable Colorado’s betting handle would be high, but CO betting revenue would take a major hit. The final number? Over $1.9 million in losses on $313.2 million in handle.
Hockey revenue losses tally $2 million
The month of June produced $29.5 million in wager but $31.5 million in payouts. Keep in mind futures bets on the Avalanche, which were posted as long as a year ago, did not cash in and pay out until now. So, most of the winnings likely came from bets placed in the months preceding June.
The wagers on hockey pushed it up to third on the list of most popular sports, trailing baseball ($106.5 million in handle) and basketball ($44.5 million in handle). While baseball posted $4 million in gains for sportsbooks, basketball was another loser with almost $44.9 million in payouts. Again, this is likely explained by a predominance of wagers on the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Championship.
Tennis and soccer rounded out the top five most-bet on sports of June. Table tennis maintained its post in the top ten at seventh, behind golf and ahead of MMA. Parlay bets, which are counted in its own category, produced $58.9 million in wagers, clearing $4 million in revenue.
Handle was down slightly month-over-month from $330 million in May wagers. The dip is substantially smaller than most states dealing with the seasonal slowdown of the sports calendar.
CO betting revenue reported as a $2 million loss
Net sports betting proceeds (NSBP) in Colorado are tallied based on gross gaming revenue. The adjusted gross revenue takes into account tax deductions based on the promotional credit spend of each operator. Before promo deductions, Colorado books posted almost $6.8 million in revenue. After promo deductions, revenue was, in fact, a loss. Sportsbooks across Colorado reported a combined $1.9 million in losses. This is the second negative revenue month for Colorado this year and third overall since sports betting launched in May 2020.
Last year’s revenue for June totaled $7.4 million on significantly less handle. With $229.7 million in bets last year, handle is up over 36% year over year. The interest in the Avalanche’s postseason run also meant Colorado had one of the best months of sports betting activity across the country.
While not all states have reported June revenu (most notably) Illinois, Colorado’s month trailed only New York, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, while outperforming states like Michigan and Indiana.
Nonetheless, with few sportsbooks posting any revenue for the month, total taxes generated from all of that action amount to just $268,280. That is a year-over-year drop of 76% compared to $1.1 million in tax revenue in 2021. It is also a big dip from May, which generated roughly $1.67 million in taxes on $16.7 million in taxable revenue.
