Colorado sportsbooks posted multiple records in November.
Sports betting yielded nearly $2 million in taxes for the state, even as the $475 million handle fell short of October’s all-time high.
November’s results in Colorado further strengthened a historic surge of sports betting across the US, even as one fewer weekend in October meant fewer football games to wager on.
And the NFL was once again the driver in the Colorado sports betting market.
Colorado sports betting by the numbers in November
Bettors poured $475.4 million into Colorado’s online and retail sportsbooks in November, falling 3.3% short of the record $491.5 million in wagers reached in October, according to data released on Monday by the Colorado Division of Gaming.
Despite the modest month-over-month drop, November’s average betting volume actually stayed level with the 31 days of October at $15.85 million per day. Year-over-year volume surged 105.6% from $231.2 million in November 2020. Much of those wagers were made through online sportsbooks, which generated $469.0 million, or 89.6%, of Colorado’s total handle.
Sportsbooks shattered the state’s gross revenue record with $36.8 million in November, 28.5% from the previous record of $28.6 million set last month. Year-over-year, gross revenue was up 100.4% from $18.4 million in November 2020.
Net sports betting proceeds rose to $19.3 million from $9.8 million in October, breaking the record of $11.7 million set in January. That yielded $1.98 million in state taxes, the most ever in a single month in Colorado.
Top sports wagered on in November
November’s results came in spite of one fewer weekend for football compared with October. NFL betting generated $140.3 million in wagers in November, which was down from $171.2 million in October. And college football betting slowed to $29.4 million from $51.2 million in October.
A hot run by the Denver Broncos in November helped stem the loss of one fewer weekend of football.
But it’s basketball that mostly made up for the loss of football inventory. NBA betting jumped to $124.7 million in November from $63.3 million in October.
The first month of college basketball betting generated another $29 million. Ice hockey ($14.0 million) and soccer ($11.2 million) contributed significant action, too.
And if you were curious, yes, table tennis betting is still in the top 10. In November it was eighth, $7.8 million.
Top 5 bet on sports in Colorado
- NFL $140.3 million
- Basketball $124.7 million
- NCAA football $29.4 million
- NCCA basketball $29.0 million
- Hockey $14 million
| Wagers by sport | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Revenue (GGR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Football | $140,331,96 | $138,242,089 | $2,089,875 | $14,424,462 |
| Pro Basketball | $124,651,106 | $123,815,146 | $835,960 | $2,333,432 |
| NCAA Football | $29,401,233 | $28,459,275 | $941,958 | -$251,221 |
| NCAA Basketball | $29,010,007 | $28,702,055 | $307,953 | $463,673 |
| Hockey | $13,979,632 | $13,887,374 | $92,258 | $447,112 |
| Soccer | $11,231,970 | $11,189,891 | $42,079 | $1,005,300 |
| Tennis | $9,248,926 | $9,239,521 | $9,405 | $873,773 |
| Table Tennis | $7,764,202 | $7,752,986 | $11,217 | $748,310 |
| MMA | $2,496,651 | $2,471,362 | $25,290 | $365,717 |
| Baseball | $1,431,854 | $1,391,647 | $40,206 | -$1,730,577 |
| Other | $22,049,592 | $22,003,128 | $46,464 | $979,333 |
| Parlay | $83,844,093 | $81,852,830 | 1,991,263 | $17,122,534 |
| Total | $475,441,229 | $469,007,302 | $6,433,927 | $36,781,848 |
