The biggest story in college football this season had a knock-on effect in its home state, as the Colorado Department of Revenue reported a 37.9% year-over-year increase in college football handle for August.
College football moved up its season start in recent years to late August, with “Week 0” action lumped together with futures wagering in revenue reports. The provided plenty of intrigue, with a Pro Football Hall of Fame player and still relatively untested coach taking over a Power 5 program and gutting practically the entire roster.
Bettors in the Centennial State took notice, as college football handle was close to $6 million — an increase of $1.6 million compared to August 2022 and more than double the $2.5 million-plus worth of accepted wagers in August 2021. Operator gross revenue — skewed in the house’s favor, as futures wagers are counted as revenue until settled — was up 11.1% year-over-year to $1.9 million, as the hold was 32.2%.
Overall sports wagering handle totaled nearly $306.1 million, up 5.5% from the same month last year, as handle for the 2023 calendar year sured $3 billion. Operators reported $25.9 million in gross revenue, a slight uptick from August 2022 despite the 8.5% win rate being nearly half a percentage point lower.
The state was eligible to tax almost $18.7 million in adjusted gross operator revenue, which led to $1.8 million in taxes. Colorado’s coffers have had an inflow of nearly $15.8 million in the first eight months of 2023, an increase of $6.6 million versus the same span last year.
Parlay bettors hold their own again p3463
| State | August 2023 Handle | August 2023 Revenue | August 2023 Hold | 2023 YTD Parlay Handle | 2023 YTD Parlay Revenue | 2023 YTD Parlay Hold | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLORADO | $53,530,982 | $5,790,316 | 10.82% | January-August 2023 | $470,695,586 | $73,241,314 | 15.56% |
| Illinois | N/A | N/A | N/A | January-July 2023 | $1,629,462,734 | $323,940,440 | 19.88% |
| New Jersey | $164,846,150 | $39,705,208 | 24.09% | January-August 2023 | $1,561,443,200 | $331,498,494 | 21.23% |
| Maryland | $74,691,687 | $12,419,203 | 16.63% | June-August 2023 | $234,458,240 | $47,039,017 | 20.06% |
| Oregon | $12,087,616 | $1,404,861 | 11.62% | January-September 2023 | $130,369,984 | $27,497,186 | 21.09% |
| Mississippi | $4,968,620 | $1,021,680 | 20.56% | January-August 2023 | $45,230,122 | $9,947,225 | 21.99% |
| Nevada | $82,607 | ($18,000) | (21.79%) | January-August 2023 | $5,138,544 | $1,931,000 | 37.58% |
While parlays provided the most operator revenue by category in August at $5.8 million, Colorado bettors continued to show plenty of savvy with their multi-leg wagers.
The 10.8% hold on those bets was the lowest for the house since a 6.8% win rate in June 2022. The house has not had a collective hold of 20% or higher on parlays in any month since attaining a 24.9% mark in September 2022, when it claimed a record $18.8 million from $75.3 million handle.
The public also improved its performance in NFL futures also contributed to a notable chunk of August revenue, as pro football gross revenue was about $9,000 shy of $5 million, with the hold a robust 25.7% on $19.4 million handle.
Tennis rounded out the top four for operator revenue with more than $2.6 million, while the $29.9 million handle was second-highest among sports for August. Table tennis handle reached an all-time monthly record of $12.4 million, the second consecutive month it topped $12 million after failing to do so since October 2021. The $835,000 in revenue from the popular niche sport ranked No. 2 all-time, trailing only the $942,000 generated in March.
YTD revenue remains substantially higher 6i275q
Despite the minimal increase in year-over-year handle through the first eight months of 2023, operators continue to perform demonstrably better than in 2022. Gross revenue is up 24.3% to $230.6 million, as the 7.3% hold is 1.4 percentage points higher than the first eight months of 2022.
Adjusted gross revenue, meanwhile, has skyrocketed 83.2% to $157.5 million, as the state was able to tax at least 70% of overall gross revenue for the fifth time in the last six months. Colorado has levied taxes on 68% of gross revenue in 2023, which is tracking to be substantially higher than the 53.7% reached for all of 2022.
