Colorado is the Latest State to Reveal Sports Betting Record

Colorado established a legal sports betting record in October, joining the latest states to reveal new highs. Let's dive into the numbers.

Creating new monthly records has become a theme around the U.S. legal sports betting scene this fall. It's almost not shocking anymore when the monthly reports emerge.

Colorado is finally on the board with its October figures, as the state shattered its previous handle set way back in September. The Centennial State is rolling right now, and that momentum should continue into the spring.

“Five full weekends of the NFL and college football will always be good for sportsbooks, but for that to coincide with baseball’s postseason and the opening of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche seasons made October a sort of perfect storm," said Ian St Clair, the lead analyst for PlayColorado.com. "Importantly, the base of sports bettors in Colorado continues to expand, and those bettors are wagering more than this time last year as they become more comfortable with in-game betting at online sportsbooks.

"Altogether, it points to a bright future for the industry."

Getting Into the Colorado Numbers

The state's sportsbooks took in an incredible $491.4 million in October, a 20.4% spike from the previous record of $408.3 million. It's also a 133.2% year-over-year increase from sports betting activity in October 2020.

Gross gaming revenues in Colorado also set a new high watermark, though without the same month-to-month spike as the handle. Revenues reached a record $28.6 million in October, up 11.6% from September's sportsbook profits and 64.4% from October 2020. The October revenue figure is also a $5.5 million improvement over the previous gross gaming revenue record of $23.1 million set in January.

Mobile Continues to Dominate

Colorado's incredibly popular mobile betting scene continues to drive the state's sports betting ship. A staggering 98% of the sports betting dollars the state's books have taken in came from internet-based sites. That's $483.3 million of the $491.4 million handle, which is a 20% increase from September's mobile haul. It's also a 131.4% year-over-year increase from the $206.4 million in internet-based sports wagers during October 2020.

“With such a packed sports schedule, sportsbooks clearly saw an opportunity to reach new customers in October," said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com network. "Online operators have been aggressive in Colorado from the beginning, in part because the state has incentivized heavy promotional spending. That has limited tax revenue, but ideally more in tax receipts will come as the market grows.”

Football Shines

Football is still carrying sports betting jurisdictions across the country. Pro pigskin contributed $171.2 million toward Colorado's overall sports betting handle in October.

Basketball was next with $63.3 million, college football brought in $51.2 million, baseball $37.4 million, soccer $15.9 million, tennis $14.1 million, and hockey $13.2 million.

Coloradans continue to like their table tennis too, which is one of the true head-scratchers in the U.S. legal sports betting scene. Despite all the active U.S. sports leagues, table tennis still generated $10.3 million in October bets.

Looking Ahead in Colorado

The next milestone for Colorado to hit is the magical $500-million mark. With college basketball kicking off in November, the Colorado Avalanche looking good, and the Denver Broncos hanging around in the AFC's playoff picture, that plateau could be reached as early as November.

“Five weeks of football are more than enough to overcome dampened enthusiasm from a disappointing Broncos stretch," St. Clair said. "With the Broncos bouncing back, and college basketball cranking up, wagering should remain high in the coming months, too.”

Eyes will be on every U.S. legal sports betting market after November to see if the momentum indeed continues. Colorado has been a top-five sports betting state, and there's no reason to think a slide is imminent.