Colorado sportsbooks experienced a nearly 10% year-over-year bump in handle this September, with $562.9 million wagers this past month compared to $512.8 million in 2023. More than $350 million of those wagers were on football and parlays.
Parlay bets comprised 24% of handle
Parlays comprised a full 24% of total wagers compared to 19.4% last year.
Total gross gaming revenue for the month came in at just short of $55.1 million, meaning state sportsbooks held 9.8% of wagers on the month. During the same period last year, sportsbooks generated $45.3 million in GGR and held 8.8%.
Even though Colorado is one of the older U.S. sports betting markets, operators were still spending, and doing so at a slightly higher pace than 2023.
Last September, Colorado sportsbooks deducted nearly $12.8 million in promotional credit, while last month that number came in at $13.5 million.
The uptick comes at a time when many operators are giving up their Colorado sports betting licenses. Betsafe, SI Sportsbook, BlueBet, SuperBook and Sahara Bets have all exited in recent months.
The month of betting activity generated just over $4 million in sports betting tax revenue for the state.
Proposition JJ would lift cap on sports betting tax revenue
The report comes just days before Election Day, where Colorado residents will vote on Proposition JJ, a referendum that would remove the $29 million cap on how much the state can take in sports betting tax from operators each year.
The measure made the ballot after changes to how promotional credit is deducted by sportsbooks in Colorado. In 2022, the state legislature passed a new law that gradually reduces promotional credit deductions in the state. As of July 1 of this year, operators can deduct no more than 2.4% and that rate will drop to 2% on July 1, 2025.
With the cap on promotional deductions in place and trending downward, the state generated $2.8 million more than the $29 million in revenue and, in theory, is supposed to return those funds back to the operator.
If Proposition JJ passes, the cap on tax revenue will be lifted and the total tax revenue from the 10% tax rate levied on operators minus promotional credit deductions and the federal excise tax.
There is no oppositional campaign to Proposition JJ.