With just two NFL games in the month of February (the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl), Colorado bettors spent less money and, unfortunately for the operators, their revenue fell significantly.
The Colorado Department of Revenue announced that the state’s retail and online sportsbooks handled $536.9 million in bets in February. In comparison, January saw $596.7 million, which benefitted from a full month of NFL playoff games.
As their tickets fell, operators also struggled to keep their revenue at January’s level. Their hold percentage came in at 4.8%, well below the 9% the previous month. Monthly gross revenue came in at $25.7 million, half of January’s $53.5 million haul. And the $1.3 million in taxes was a 68.4% less than January.
While NFL action helped bring sportsbook revenue up in January, it was a big contributor to the massive decline in February.
Football bettors celebrate as retail books struggle
In January, NFL bets contributed $10.2 million in profit from $86.1 million in wagers. In February, the handle fell to $18.7 million but, more importantly, the sportsbooks lost money, paying out $5.5 million over what they took in.
For the online books, the NFL joined golf as their only losers. The retail locations, on the other hand, lost money on football, basketball, tennis, hockey, golf, and table tennis. All in all, the physical locations lost $145,000 in revenue.
Basketball the new top sport
The NBA enjoyed a full month to itself without March Madness or MLB to take the spotlight. Basketball represented the top two sports in Colorado. The NBA saw 29% of the single sport bets and college basketball was second at 4.7%. Tennis was third with 3.8%, followed by NFL at 3.5% and soccer at 3.1%.
| Sport | February Handle |
|---|---|
| Pro Basketball | $155.5 million |
| College Basketball | $25.2 million |
| Tennis | $20.6 million |
| Pro Football | $18.7 million |
| Soccer | $16.4 million |
| Hockey | $14.5 million |
| Table Tennis | $7.7 million |
| Golf | $5.4 million |
| MMA | $3 million |
