Colorado Reports Record Sports Betting Handle in January
- Colorado reports a record-breaking $326.9 million in sports betting handle in January
- January’s mark shattered the previous handle record of $284.5 million set in December
- Colorado will likely rank sixth in sports betting handle in January behind New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois
Colorado officially launched legal sports betting on May 1 of last year. While actual sporting events on which to wager were few and far between last May as the pandemic worsened, Colorado’s sports betting industry has quickly grown into one of the largest in the United States.
Colorado has become the sixth state to go over more than $300 million in total sports bets in a single month, joining Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois.
Colorado took in $326.9 million in January.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 25, 2021
January of 2021 was Colorado’s best month yet when it comes to sports betting handle. Coloradans wagered $326.9 million in January, according to the Colorado Division of Gaming. January marked the ninth consecutive month in which the state’s sports betting operators reported record-setting handle.
More Numbers
Colorado generated a record $23.1 million in sports betting revenue last month, as well. The state reported $1.2 million in taxes, which topped December’s total of about $531,000.
As you may expect, the vast majority of those bets were made online. A whopping 97 percent of the money wagered in January was risked online. That comes out to over $319 million in online bets. Of course, there are only three land-based retail sportsbooks currently operating in the state, and those sportsbooks are located in three small towns in the Rockies.
The online handle generated $22.7 million in gross gaming revenue in January. While retail betting accounted for a relatively small percentage of the total, retail sportsbooks still took in $7.5 million last month. That topped the previous record of $4.1 million set in December of last year.
NBA Was Most Popular Sport
The NBA was the most popular sport on which to wager in Colorado. Coloradans wagered $88.3 million on the NBA last month with the regular season in full swing. The NFL playoffs attracted $75 million worth of bets, followed by college basketball ($39.9 million), table tennis ($11.8 million), and the NHL ($9.6 million).
Table tennis took in more bets than the National Hockey League despite the fact that Colorado’s lone NHL franchise, the Avalanche, are among the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season. A total of $53.3 million worth of parlays was risked, as well.
Soccer took in over $6 million worth of bets, while college football and mixed martial arts both attracted around $3 million in wagers. Tennis ($2.9 million) and golf ($1.7 million) were also fairly popular sports on which to bet last month.
Colorado reported about $1.2 billion in wagers from the launch of sports betting last May until the end of the year. Bettors wagered a shade over $284 million in December, which was the biggest month of 2020.
While the industry is clearly on the rise in the state, Colorado still ranks behind several other states in terms of sports betting handle. New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Indiana have emerged as the top-four, while Colorado will likely fall behind Illinois once that state reports its numbers from January. Indiana reported $348 million worth of sports wagers last month.
Colorado still has a long way to go before it catches the likes of New Jersey and Nevada, but it’s safe to assume that the state will see the sports betting industry continue to grow in a big way as 2021 progresses.
Responses