The expectations were high for the first Super Bowl in the Colorado sports betting market.
That’s still the case despite a matchup most Colorado bettors and fans were less than thrilled to watch.
The only question left to answer was how high would the betting number get.
We now know.
PlayColorado was given the Super Bowl 55 betting handle from the Colorado Division of Gaming (DOG) on Tuesday morning.
Colorado users wagered $31.2 million on Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Of that, $14.3 million was in future bets and $16.9 million was game-day bets.
Compared with the numbers in other states, that is a little low.
- Nevada $136.1 million
- New Jersey $117.4 million
- Illinois $42.8 million
However, when you look at the monthly betting handles in those respective states, the Super Bowl handle falls pretty much in line with those numbers.
If you were curious about the amount of taxes the state will collect on that $31.2 million, PlayColorado was told the operators report and pay those on a monthly basis. So the DOG won’t have those numbers until March 15 when they are due to the state.
Now that the first one is out of the way, it’s interesting to see how the number grows from here.
When you talk about the launch of sports betting here, nine months later, you can’t do so without the inclusion of COVID-19.
Future Super Bowl betting in Colorado
If and when the country gets back to “normal,” it’s interesting to contemplate how that Super Bowl handle might grow.
As Jay Kornegay, executive vice president of operations at the Westgate SuperBook, said to PlayColorado when the app launched here:
“I think that they have the chance of probably more than doubling what Nevada does over time. If you look at just pure population numbers — the state of Colorado has, I believe, around 6 million people and the state Nevada has 2 million. Even though we have a strong tourist crowd, I still believe when it’s all said and done, and people realize how fun and entertaining sports betting can be — which I think that’s taking place as we speak — Colorado has the potential of being a top five state for a long, long time.”
The other factor to consider for future Super Bowl betting in Colorado is the launch of more sportsbooks in the market.
Namely Barstool and the impact the app could have when it finally goes live.
As for when Barstool will launch, look for that to happen in the next month or so.
For now, the first Super Bowl for Colorado sports betting is in the books.
It’s safe to say it was a success.
