The third anniversary of legal Colorado sports betting is quickly approaching and the latest numbers indicate a market that remains strong.
January’s sports betting handle, or amount wagered, in Colorado came to $547,189,025, up 5.6% from December’s total of nearly $518.1 million.
But the handle for the first month of 2023 was down 4.6% in a year-over-year comparison with January 2022, when bettors in Colorado wagered more than $573.7 million. Legal, regulated sports betting in Colorado began in May 2020.
CO Sports Betting, January vs. December
Colorado Sports Betting Revenue Falls
But the numbers trended the opposite way for revenue derived from sports wagering.
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) to kick off 2023 was $35,482,562, a 13.3% decline in a month-over-month comparison to the $40.9 million in the Colorado December betting revenue report. However, January’s GGR was a 2.4% increase from $34.64 million reported 12 months earlier.
The total statewide sports betting taxes crept up slightly, from $2,583,711 in December to $2,586,457 in January, a 0.1% rise. The tax total collected jumped up 78.6% from January 2022, when it was $1,447,952.
Colorado Mobile Betting Handle Dominant
The handle at online Colorado sportsbook apps was $542,247,595 in January, up 5.4% from December ($514,272,416) and down 4.4% from January 2022 ($567,106,605). The amount wagered at retail brick-and-mortar casinos was $4,941,429 in the first month of 2023, so 99.1% of betting was online.
The convenient option of online sports betting – whether on mobile devices, laptops or desktop computers – is by far the preferred choice in every state that offers it.
That is even more true in Colorado than in most states. The mobile share of the market in the Centennial State routinely exceeds 99% of the total amount wagered on sports, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The top five sports in handle for January were: Pro basketball $178,008,162, pro football $122,207,856, college basketball $50,244,598, tennis $29,072,130 and hockey $22,296,639. Sports classified as “other” (aside from basketball, football, tennis, hockey, soccer, table tennis, golf and MMA) accounted for $16,733,079, and Coloradans bet $97,228,654 on parlays in January.
Colorado Avalanche Aim For Repeat
This is a thrilling time to be a sports fan or sports bettor in Colorado, with two Denver pro sports teams looking like serious title contenders.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche have +650 odds at BetMGM Colorado sportsbook to win their second consecutive title and fourth in franchise history.
The Avs had won six in a row before Wednesday’s 7-5 loss against the New Jersey Devils. On Saturday, Colorado faces Central Division rival and Western Conference leader Dallas to begin a stretch of five consecutive games against intraconference foes.
Denver Nuggets An Appealing Wager
As exciting as this era is for the Avalanche, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets are having an even better season right now.
The Nuggets lead the Western Conference behind two-time league Most Valuable player Nikola Jokic. Denver is a +750 wager at DraftKings Colorado Sportsbook to win their first NBA championship.
The Nuggets have won six of their past seven games heading into Friday’s game in Denver against the Memphis Grizzlies. That’s a matchup of the top two teams in the West going into Friday; Denver leads the conference by five games over the Grizzlies. At 44-19, the Nuggets have the third-best record in the league, just behind the Boston Celtics (45-17) and Milwaukee Bucks (45-18).
Jokic – who is averaging 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10 assists a game – is listed at -340 odds with FanDuel Colorado Sportsbook to earn his third consecutive MVP award.
If he does so, he’d be the first player to be named MVP in three consecutive seasons since Hall of Famer Larry Bird with the Celtics in 1983-86.
Find the Colorado sportsbook promotions all year round at BetColorado.
