A Look At The First Year Of Legal Sports Betting In Colorado

Colorado sports betting has been fully legal and operational in for over a year now, with May 1 marking its first anniversary. With the recent release of April’s monthly statistics, we now have a full year’s worth of data to go along with the milestone.

Monthly figures have been provided below for the first year of sports betting in the Centennial State.

Source: Colorado Department of Revenue Sports Betting Monthly Proceeds Reports

This article will take a deeper look into those numbers and some of the recent developments in the Colorado sports betting market.

A Welcoming Market

Colorado is no stranger to gambling, as legalized gambling dates to 1991. The only authorized games were blackjack, poker, and slots, and state law only allowed for a $5 maximum wager in the early days. Things remained that way until 2008 when limits were raised to $100 per single bet.

Fast forward to 2020, where another massive evolution in Colorado’s gambling laws took place. In addition to legal sports betting taking effect, voters also passed Amendment 77 handily, abolishing the $100 maximum bet law and further allowing for casinos to spread even more games on-premises, such as keno, baccarat, and pai gow tiles.

While the $100 limit did not apply to online wagers, in-person betting is becoming more popular in Colorado casinos as luxury retail sportsbooks begin to open at venues across Black Hawk and beyond. Thus, even more opportunity exists that bettors are not capped on wagering amounts when betting in person.

Going Live Amidst a Pandemic

The world was at the height of lockdowns when sports betting went live in Colorado nearly 13 months ago. Postponed sports seasons, casino closures, and other restrictions all but ensured a slow start to Colorado’s sports betting debut. Even still, the state’s first month of legal sports betting generated $25.6 million in total money wagered.

By July, the third month in which sports betting was available, Colorado more than doubled its total handle to $59.1 million. Major League Baseball also began its abbreviated season and accounted for the most wagered sport in the month.

One month later, that number more than doubled again as August’s figures of $128.6 million in handle and $7.5 million in revenue, with five stat categories generating eight-figure handles. Basketball ($38 million); Baseball ($22.7 million); Hockey ($13.6 million) were the top three sports, joined by another $22.6 million wagered through parlays and combination bets along with $14.1 million more coming through “Other” bets.

Continuing the Momentum

Going into the 2020 football season, Colorado’s August handle put it just outside the top five nationwide. It was just behind upstart Illinois sports betting revenue: ($140.5 million) and Indiana sports betting revenue ($169 million), the former of which has leaped towards the top three as the market continues to mature. The latter has retained competitive figures to that of Colorado on a consistent monthly basis.

As expected, September 2020 brought a massive uptick in money wagered as the NFL and college football seasons began. Colorado surpassed $200 million in handle for the first time in September, a number it not only hit throughout the entirety of the NFL season but has eclipsed every subsequent month as well.

December 2020 brought the state’s first month with a handle north of a quarter-million dollars, a number it stayed above until this past April fell just shy with a total handle of $244 million. However, April’s amount did surpass Indiana’s monthly handle of $236 million for the first time since September 2020.

In total, Colorado’s first year of legal sports betting generated more than $2.3 billion in total wagers, resulting in $147 million in casino revenue and $6.6 million in state tax revenue.

What’s Does the Future Have In Store?

Even with more states legalizing sports betting over the past year, April’s figures keep Colorado firmly in the Top 10 in the nation.

Additionally, gambling restrictions are easing in the state of Colorado. Restrictions like mask mandates and capacity limits are slowly being lifted, and other new games such as No-Limit Hold’em, baccarat, and keno are also bringing in more foot traffic. There is also potential for integrated sports betting experiences throughout all casino areas, bringing yet another draw to potential customers.

Colorado has also been active in gambling news recently. PointsBet, whose US headquarters are in Colorado and has been expanding aggressively throughout the nation, was recently awarded Top Sports Betting Operator at the EGR North America Awards.

Bally Sports has been steadily increasing its presence and recently launched a mobile sports betting app in Colorado. Bally’s operates the Golden Gates, Golden Mardi Gras, and Golden Gulch Casinos in Black Hawk and will have the opportunity to run branded promotional material across all three of its properties within the state.