If you needed any more proof that the NFL drives sports betting in the US, you got it in Colorado.
Based on what we’ve seen in other markets, we knew the October handle would push $500 million. After the Colorado Division of Gaming released the numbers on Tuesday, the state’s market came pretty dang close.
For the month of October, Colorado sports betting brought in $491.5 million. That shatters the previous record set in September of $408.3 million. This is also the second straight month Colorado got over $400 million in sports betting.
As the release from the Divison of Gaming points out, that October handle is a 20.36% increase from August and a 133.23% over last October when the number was $210.7 million. Keep in mind, the country was still thick in COVID-19 at this point last year.
Colorado sports betting by the numbers in October
Colorado just didn’t shatter the monthly revenue handle record in October.
Of that nearly $500 million in handle, the state got $1.2 million in state taxes. The previous record for state taxes brought in by sports betting was January when it was $1.19 million.
And that’s just the start for records falling for Colorado sports betting.
After coming close to setting the gross gaming revenue mark with an astounding $22.7 million in September, October busted through with $28.6 million. The previous record was $23.1 million set in January.
While the net sports betting proceeds jumped dramatically over the $1.8 million from September, it didn’t come close to the record. In October, the nets sports betting proceeds was $9.8 million. So a definite jump from September but still short of a new record. The top spot comes from, surprise, January with $11.7 million.
The least surprising number from October is how much is driven by online sports betting. For the month, over 98% came from bets made online while less than 2% came from the 17 retail sportsbooks in Colorado.
Top sports wagered on in October
As noted earlier, NFL betting in Colorado was the definite driver. Even with the Denver Broncos going 1-4 in the month, the enthusiasm for football was still very much alive.
For the month, bettors placed $171.2 million on the NFL.
NBA betting was next at $63.3 million and college football betting was third with $51.97 million. That last number is a little surprising given how bad the University of Colorado and Colorado State University were this season.
And since you can’t go a month without mentioning table tennis betting in this state, the niche sport continues to crack the top 10, though it was finally topped by soccer and hockey. In October, table tennis brought in $10.3 million in bets.
Top 5 bet on sports in Colorado
- NFL $171.23 million
- Basketball $63.30 million
- NCAA football $51.97 million
- Baseball $37.38 million
- Soccer $15.81 million
| Wagers by sport | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Revenue (GGR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Football | $171,233,958 | $167,723,488 | $3,510,470 | $6,282,827 |
| Pro Basketball | $63,309,189 | $62,534,366 | $774,823 | $2,455,672 |
| NCAA Football | $51,970,219 | $50,823,988 | $1,146,231 | $186,399 |
| Baseball | $37,384,466 | $36,741,699 | $642,767 | $3,498,662 |
| Soccer | $15,814,013 | $15,772,975 | $41,038 | $581,050 |
| Tennis | $14,146,198 | $14,114,882 | $31,316 | $676,775 |
| Hockey | $13,158,272 | $12,928,748 | $229,524 | $1,121,142 |
| Table Tennis | $10,328,995 | $10,324,863 | $4,132 | $420,925 |
| MMA | $1,695,668 | $1,655,760 | $39,908 | $278,002 |
| Boxing | $1,353,579 | $1,324,037 | $29,542 | $223,428 |
| Other | $21,364,031 | $21,325,089 | $38,942 | $815,032 |
| Parlay | $89,694,754 | $88,044,852 | $1,649,902 | $12,076,794 |
| Total | $491,453,342 | $483,314,747 | $8,138,595 | $28,616,708 |
