Not even baseballs All-Star Game in Denver could capture enough bettor interest to overcome the absence of major sports during most of July as Colorados sports betting handle dropped to an 11-month low.

The $181.3 million bet in July was down 21.1% from June and was the lowest monthly total since sports wagering totaled $128.6 million in August 2020, the Colorado Division of Gaming reported. The July total was still more than triple the $59.2 million wagered in July 2020, which was only the third month of legal sports wagering in Colorado and was before most major sports had resumed playing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baseball dominated the wagering with $61.1 million in bets during July, or about a third of the total, followed by basketball with $27.2 million (two games of the NBA finals) and soccer with nearly $14 million. Bets on individual player performance and combination bets totaled $30.8 million; bets on all other sports, which included the first week of the Summer Olympics, totaled $48.3 million.

July is historically the slowest month for sports betting in the U.S. for good reason. Not only are there fewer games of interest to bettors, but casual players are typically occupied with family vacations and other summer activities, said Ian St. Clair, lead analyst for PlayColorado.com, a website focused on sports betting. He predicted betting numbers in August would be stronger with NFL preseason games.

Despite the decline in betting, Colorado sportsbooks still generated $15.7 million in revenue in July, down 20.7% from June but up from May and April totals. Bettors placed fewer winning wagers, allowing casinos to keep 8.63% of the amount bet, slightly up from June and the highest win percentage for sportsbooks since July 2020. Excluding free promotional bets and taxes, sportsbooks made $9.6 million.

The higher win percentage by sportsbooks also made the state a winner taxes paid by sportsbooks totaled just under $1 million, down 15.8% from June but the second highest monthly total since January. The tax, which has generated $9.46 million from $2.98 billion in bets since legalized sports wagering began in May 2020, funds Colorado water projects.

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Colorado sports betting slows to lowest since August 2020, but there's optimism - Colorado Springs Gazette