The Colorado sports betting market has been one of the most active ones in the United States since the state launched in May 2020.
And 2022 was a good example of that.
Growth of Colorado Sportsbooks in 2022
In 2021, the first full year of online Colorado sportsbook apps as well as retail wagering, the state took in about $3.85 billion in bets. In 2020 the best month for handle, or amount wagered, was in December at $284.55 million. The state surpassed that total six times in 2021.
And in 2022 the arrow continued to point upward.
Through November, Colorado had already beaten last year’s handle total, accepting just over $4.66 billion in sports bets (the state has yet to report December numbers). And about $4.6 billion of that has come via online devices, with Colorado bettors preferring that option with about 99% of their money on a pretty consistent basis every month.
Those online sportsbooks offer promotions to entice and keep customers; turn to BetColorado for the best Colorado sports betting promos before you place a wager.
The sports betting revenue also set a state record, with the total topping $310 million with one month to go, compared to $250 million for all of 2021.
One of the Top States in American Market
Colorado has consistently been one of the top 10 every month among states with legal, regulated sports betting.
For instance, in September 2022, the state was seventh in sports betting handle at $290.1 million, trailing only New York ($877.4 million), Illinois ($564.8M), New Jersey ($546.8M), Nevada ($408.9M), Pennsylvania ($363.0M) and Arizona ($361.0M).
In October, Colorado was behind those states plus Virginia.
The interest in sports betting in Colorado is pretty predictable considering the sporting landscape in the Centennial State and the wide variety of nationally known gambling brands such as the BetMGM Colorado Sportsbook.
Colorado, or to be exact Denver, has teams in every major pro sport – the NHL Avalanche, MLB Rockies, NFL Broncos, NBA Nuggets and MLS’ Rapids – plus the state has three NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision programs with Colorado, Colorado State and Air Force. Those schools plus the University of Denver and Northern Colorado play Division I basketball as well.
Year-Round Interest in Variety of Sports
As is the case everywhere with sports betting, football draws the most interest in Colorado. The University of Colorado’s move to hire Deion Sanders as head football coach will be sure to spark interest statewide, though the Buffaloes, coming off a 1-11 season, have +10000 odds to win the 2023 national championship with Caesars Colorado Sportsbook.
October is a good baseline month for comparison because all of the major sports are going on at that time. In that month, pro football drew $171.6 million in bets in Colorado and college football attracted another $50.4 million worth of action. Basketball was second at $85.67 million, then came baseball ($42.1 million), hockey $16.8 million) and soccer ($16.59 million). One attention-grabbing aspect of Colorado betting is the high interest in tennis – that sport drew $24.47 million in bets in October, easily outpacing both hockey and soccer.
Even in 2020 the appetite was there to wager on sports at a time when events were mostly shut down because of restrictions designed to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, the first month of Colorado sports wagering, there was no betting at retail locations, only via mobile outlets. That month, table tennis from far-flung locations around the globe whetted the appetite for sports betting with $6.5 million in handle.
In fact, table tennis was the leading sports in handle the first two months of wagering, a scenario nobody could have predicted even a few months earlier.
Since then, major American sports leagues came back and wagering patterns have mostly returned to normal – but Coloradans still bet $8.2 million on table tennis in October 2022, far more than either MMA or golf.
And the interest in sports betting might be heading for more peaks in a state famed for its mountains. The Colorado Avalanche are the defending Stanley Cup champions and the Denver Nuggets are one of the top contenders in the NBA’s Western Conference behind two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets are +800 at DraftKings Colorado Sportsbook to win the franchise’s first NBA championship. The Avs are +600 at DraftKings to repeat as NHL champions.
The Denver Broncos struggled to a 5-12 finish in 2022 and fired Nathaniel Hackett as head coach before he had even completed his first season in charge.
Another last-place team resided in Denver in 2022 as Colorado brought up the rear in the National League West with a 68-94 mark. At FanDuel Colorado Sportsbook, the Rockies are +15000 to win the NL West in 2023 and +20000 to win the World Series.
