Colorado Sets New Sports Betting Record
The January sports betting numbers are finally out for the state of Colorado, and it was another record-setting month for the sportsbooks. This has been the trend throughout the United States, and Colorado continues to be one of the biggest markets in the country.
The total sports betting handle was $573.3 million, moving past the previous record of $491.5 million that was set back in October 2021. Even though it has been a few months since Colorado set a new record, this state was still seeing some strong sports betting numbers.
The December sports betting handle was $461.4 million, which means there was an increase of nearly 25%. Online sports betting once again made up more than 98% of the total wagers, and this is another trend that has continued in Colorado.
Despite the massive jump in the number of bets, it was not a record-setting month in terms of revenue. The gross sports betting revenue was $34.6 million, which was just shy of the previous record of $36.8 that was set back in November.
Colorado is currently sitting in fifth place in terms of total sports betting handle for January, but it will likely fall at least one spot. Illinois continues to be a massive sports betting market, and it should easily slide past Colorado.
NBA Moves Past NFL
January was a big month for the NFL, but it was actually the NBA that brought in the most wagers for the month. The total betting handle on the NBA was $163.6 million, and the strong play from the Denver Nuggets impacted these numbers.
Football was next on the list as that league accounted for a total sports betting handle of $144.1 million. Parlay betting continues to be popular in this state also, and that type of wager accounted for a total handle of nearly $91 million.
College basketball was just starting to heat up in January, and bettors made over $63 million in wagers on those games in January. College basketball betting should dominate February and March, especially during the NCAA Tournament.
Big Expectations in 2022 for Colorado Betting Market
2022 is expected to be the biggest year yet for Colorado sports betting, but it will have some work to do if it passes up the 2021 totals. The state of Colorado nearly hit the $4 billion mark for total handle in 2021, and it was consistently one of the top markets in the US.
What is an even more important number for the state is that the total sports betting revenue was $250 million. Last year, the hold percentage for sportsbooks was just 6.6%, which was one of the lowest figures in the United States.
Online sportsbooks accounted for nearly 99 percent of the total wagers last year, and a boost in retail sports betting could help the state set new records in 2022.
