When proponents of sports betting were trying to sell Colorado’s voters on legalizing sports betting in 2019, they said a significant part of money raised would be directed to the state water project if Proposition DD was approved.
That has turned out to be right and Governor Jared Polis is getting considerably more money for $40 billion Colorado’s Water Plan faster than he had anticipated. The goal is to build new water projects and increase storage. The governor had warned not to expect any money to be directed to the water plan from the first year of wagering. He was wrong.
Of course, sports betting will never even come close to paying off the water plan.
Colorado has turned out to be one of the fastest growing sportsbook markets in the U.S. since it began in May. The state has already collected more than $3.4 million in sports betting taxes from more than $1 billion in wagers by the end of 2020, easily paying off the $2 million in startup costs.
The Colorado Department of Revenue reported last week that $284.5 million was wagered in December, a 23 percent increase over the month before and the seventh straight increase.
Colorado’s is the fifth largest sports betting market in the U.S. and joins Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana in having a total handle larger than $1 billion since the federal ban was lifted.
Colorado Division of Gaming Director Dan Hartman said in a statement: “Hitting the $1 billion mark is a milestone event for the department, leading us to believe that the trust and competition in the industry are leading bettors from the black market to the regulated market.” He added, “We believe the legal marketplace is having and will continue to have a positive impact on Colorado.”
The vast majority of such bets in the Centennial State are made using mobile platforms. The majority of bets have been placed on the NFL with pro basketball second. Operators in the state have made their best revenue totals from parlay bets.
Unlike many other forms of gaming, sports betting doesn’t appear to be as hard hit by the effects of Covid-19 than, say, the gaming revenues from the state’s three casino towns: Cripple Creek, Central City and Black Hawk.
Meanwhile, sports betting and the end of upper betting limits in the three casino towns has been dramatic enough to prompt Nevada-based Full House Resorts to increase the size of its planned expansion of Bronco Billy’s Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek by two-thirds. That will mean a new 300-room hotel and a budget of $180 million.
Other additions, such as a parking structure, meeting space, rooftop pool, spa and fine dining, are not affected.
In November the state’s voters approved Amendment 77, which lifted the $100 upper bet limit and left such decisions to the three cities. It also allowed new games, including keno, and baccarat.
In a third-quarter conference call Full House CEO Dan Lee spoke about the expanded gaming opportunities. “Is it a huge plus? I don’t know, but it’s certainly a plus,” he said. “Bronco Billy’s is a pretty simple casino today, but we do look and have talked a lot and have acquired land and have plans to eventually build a high-end hotel in Cripple Creek and fix up Bronco Billy’s. And obviously, this is a very big plus for that.”
