The Colorado Department of Revenue has released the state’s sports betting revenue numbers from December, and they’re looking good.
From 2020 to 2022, December’s sports betting handle and revenue jumped considerably. The growth in these two areas points to a growing Colorado sports betting market that’s on its way to $600 million in handle.
Additionally, December 2022 marked the first time in Colorado sports betting history that basketball had a higher market share in the last month of the year than football.
Handle and revenue surge after being down for months
Colorado sports betting revenue jumped past $40 million for only the second time this year. As is the trend at the end of the year for most sports betting markets, revenue rose in December after sliding in October and November.
Colorado’s hold (revenue as a percentage of handle) rose past 7.5% for only the fourth time this year.
As for the handle, December completed a run of three straight months with total bets exceeding $500 million. This past year marked the first time in Colorado sports betting history that the handle eclipsed $500 million, and it did so five times:
- January
- March
- October
- November
- December
| Month | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $573,720,213 | $34,640,219 | 6.0% | $1,447,952 |
| February | $440,508,421 | $19,604,490 | 4.5% | $314,731 |
| March | $505,611,080 | $28,238,194 | 5.6% | $1,313,076 |
| April | $392,311,737 | $22,571,887 | 5.8% | $1,231,742 |
| May | $360,325,438 | $27,119,329 | 7.5% | $1,659,189 |
| June | $313,215,081 | $6,781,092 | 2.2% | $268,280 |
| July | $258,414,808 | $20,802,881 | 8.1% | $1,092,162 |
| August | $290,107,970 | $25,859,270 | 8.9% | $1,822,104 |
| September | $450,232,597 | $51,339,659 | 11.4% | $2,989,342 |
| October | $526,619,777 | $36,514,974 | 6.9% | $$2,330,705 |
| November | $552,603,013 | $37,569,022 | 6.8% | $2,581,533 |
| December | $518,088,768 | $40,909,238 | 7.9% | $2,583,711 |
Breaking down Colorado sports betting by sport for December
In December, basketball captured the biggest share of the money gambled in Centennial State, while football came in a close second. College football was a distant third:
- Basketball: 28.5% of handle
- American pro football: 26.5%
- College football: 7.3%
- College basketball: 7.3%
- Hockey: 3.1%
Those numbers are significant because it’s the first time in Colorado’s sports betting history that basketball has captured a bigger share of the December handle than football. However, it’s been something that was bound to happen.
In December 2020, football doubled the handle that basketball generated. One year later, the gap closed significantly: 29.6% vs. 27.2%.
A contributing factor to the growth of basketball betting may be the success of the Denver Nuggets. The state’s lone NBA team has gone to the playoffs four straight seasons.
Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos have not played any meaningful football in the past three Decembers, and the team hasn’t made the playoffs since it won the Super Bowl in 2015.
