Table tennis wagers topped the list of revenue raisers in a report on Colorado's first month of sports betting, but officials have high hopes when professional and collegiate sports return.
Coloradans wagered $25.6 million on sports during May, generating $96,538 in tax revenue, according to a July 13 Department of Revenue release. Table tennis brought in $6.59 million in online wagers, the release said.
Suzanne Karrer, communications manager for the DOR's enforcement division, told Tax Notes July 14 that table tennis was one of the few sports offerings available to bettors in May, given the shutdown of most major sporting events because of COVID-19. She said there will likely be an increase in betting once major league and college sporting events resume, but added that "until we all have a better sense of what the new normal will look like given the COVID pandemic and a timeline of when the leagues will return to play, it is hard for us to speculate or predict what will be bet on and what the wagers will be.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic, the closures of Colorado casinos, and cessation of professional sporting events were challenges the Division of Gaming could not anticipate when initially planning for the launch of legalized sports betting in Colorado,” Dan Hartman, director of the DOR's gaming division, said in the release.
Hartman added that despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the amount collected represents an “encouraging predictor of the potential for the Colorado sports betting landscape.”
Sports betting in casinos and online was legalized under Proposition DD, approved by voters in November 2019. The measure established a 10 percent excise tax on net sports betting proceeds.
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission issued and approved 25 internet operator licenses, but only six internet operators accounted for the wagers collected and the taxes calculated during May.