Colorado’s sports betting revenue dropped in September despite hitting a new record for sports betting handle.
According to the latest state report from the Colorado Division of Gaming, bettors in the state wagered $207.7m on sporting events in September, representing a new record for the state.
Bettors in the state wagered $203.9m via online sportsbooks and just $3.8m at land-based sportsbooks. Colorado’s betting handle in September marked a significant increase on the $128.6m wagered in August.
Although the state’s betting handle hit a new record in September, revenue dropped to $4.2m representing a 44.6% drop on the $7.5m generated the month prior.
Colorado bettors managed to win $203.5m back from the state’s sportsbooks.
What did people bet on?
Unlike other state reports, Colorado does not include individual operator figures, instead, it breaks down betting activity across different sports.
Baseball was the most popular sport to bet on amongst bettors after sportsbooks in the state processed a total of $47.1m on baseball events. Professional football was the second most popular sport to bet on with bettors in the state wagering $38.7m on the sport.
Basketball was also among the most popular sports, accounting for $37.8m of the state’s total betting handle.
Parlays and combinations were also incredibly popular with $28.2m bet on these. The “other” sports category accounted for $20.7m of the state’s total handle.
Sports betting in Colorado
The Centennial State narrowly legalised sports betting in November 2019 after voters approved the sports betting measure through a referendum.
Like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, Colorado law allows sports bettors to register online accounts remotely from anywhere within state lines.
More operators are expected to launch in Colorado, which could have more than 30 sportsbook operators once the market reaches full maturity.
Colorado pushes nationwide handle past $1.5bn
Colorado’s strong performance has helped push the total nationwide sports betting handle past $1.5bn in September.
When combined with the $748m wagered in New Jersey, the $462m bet in Pennsylvania and the $207m spent in Indiana, Colorado’s $207m in handle pushed the nationwide total spend on sports betting past $1.6bn.
This figure is almost certainly going to increase towards the end of the month as Nevada and Illinois have yet to publish their sports betting figures for September.
