Connecticut’s Sports Betting Handle Witnesses an Increase in December

After the first initial soft launch, Connecticut’s sports betting market has been live for two full months. The market continued to grow going into December as it reached a handle of $150.1 million to close 2021. 

 

The Outlook For Connecticut’s Sports Betting Market Going Forward 

Three sportsbooks currently operate in the state, including DraftKings, FanDuel, and SugarHouse. December’s total handle was 13.9 percent higher than November’s handle, bringing in $131.7 million. Like the majority of states that allow some form of mobile sports betting, $143.6 million of the handle was through an online provider.

The mobile sports betting handle was up 12.6 percent from November that hit $127.5 million. December’s handle also includes retail sports betting that produced $6.5 million of the handle. In-person sports wagering was up 55.5 percent from November’s $4.2 million.

Like other states in the sports betting industry, the handle does not include figures from the two tribal casinos. Sportsbook operators spent a combined total of $2.1 million in promotions as taxable revenue of $6.4 million after deductions. The state collected $929,336 in state taxes.

The state’s revenue share decreased from the previous month. November’s numbers hit $1.7 million, which signifies a decrease of 45.7 percent. Connecticut has one of the lower tax rates that features mobile sports betting as the rate is slated at 13.75 percent. 

New Hampshire and New York’s tax rate based on revenue is the highest in the country as it is slated at 51 percent. The average in the sports betting industry is 11 percent. 

With the Empire State finally starting its mobile sports betting operation, one can wonder what type of impact it will have on Connecticut.

 

New York’s Impact on the Tri-State Area 

As of right now, New Jersey has not faced the consequences yet as New York completed its second weekend of mobile sports betting. However, New Jersey has been the model state for the sports betting industry, but the same could not be said for the other members of the Tri-State.

Connecticut felt the impact of New York bettors not crossing state lines to place wagers on sporting events. GeoComply is a company that focuses on geolocation data, and it stated that 38 percent of betting activity came from the southwest corner along the New York border.

Connecticut’s online casinos recorded an increase in that category’s handle. December’s handle was $814.9 million to close out the year, which increased 17.9 percent from November’s $691.3 million.

Connecticut’s sporting betting handle for December was $814.9 million.

The taxable revenue also increased in the last month of 2021. The taxable revenue was slated at $16.3 million, a solid increase of 17.3 percent from November’s figures that hit $13.9 million. 

The state’s revenue share has also gone up. Online casino gaming was $2.9 million, which increased 16 percent from November’s numbers that hit $2.5 million.