Colorado’s sports betting market had its best month to date in October.
According to figures from the Colorado Department of Revenue, bettors in the state wagered a record $210.7m on sporting events in October, up from the $207.7m wagered in September.
The increase in betting handle helped push sportsbook gross gaming revenue (GGR) to a new high of $17.4m up from the $7.5m generated the month prior.
Online betting dominates
Online sports betting in Colorado accounted for $16.7m of the state’s total GGR while land-based operations made up the remaining $667,943.
Net sports betting proceeds, which is GGR minus the 0.25% federal excise tax and sports betting promotions like free bets, also saw an increase from a loss of $3.4m in September to $9.6m in October.
Online sports betting was the main source of income for sportsbook operators with net proceeds for online betting hitting $9m. Land-based betting made up the remaining $667,994 of the state’s net proceeds in October.
The state collected $824,700 in sports betting taxes in October, with $757,614 coming from online and $67,086 from land-based operations.
What did people bet on?
When it comes to individual sports, professional football was the most popular sport to bet on with bettors in the state wagering $68m on football events, representing 32.3% of the state’s betting handle in October.
Parlay bets accounted for $37.2m or 13.5% of the state’s handle, while Bettors in the state also wagered $28.5m on “other sports.”
Baseball was the second most popular sport to bet on as bettors in the state wagered $23m on baseball events. NCAA football followed close behind with $16.5m in sports bets.
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.
