Colorado sports numbers reach new heights in January

While football provided a boon, basketball was the real victor of the month.

Colorado has become another beneficiary of an extended NFL season after games across five weekends in the month of January pushed the state’s sports handle into the record zone of $574m. 

And it wasn’t just the NFL. Though the boost from the extra game was undeniable, it was the NBA that brought in the highest volume of bets.  

Year-on-year growth has been something dramatic in the Centennial State: according to data released by the Colorado Division of Gaming, the $573.7m in betting handle was up 75.5% from the $326.9m seen in January 2021. 

This puts Colorado within the top echelons of sports betting states: only New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and – likely, once numbers are released – Illinois performed better.  

Since launching in May 2020, mobile betting in Colorado has brought in a cumulative $4.4bn. 

In terms of gross gaming revenue in January, sportsbooks generated $34.6m, up 49.7% from January 2021’s $22.7m and also 40.1% higher than the $24.6m seen the in December 2021.  

Sportsbooks spent $21.5m on promotions which meant that taxable revenue came to $11.7m. The Colorado state government was able to collect $1.5m in taxes, just shy of a record.  

Professional basketball was the big winner in terms of draw: betting on NBA games came to $163.6m in bets, up from the $125.5m seen in December. After this was the NFL, which rose to $144.1m from the $136.5m seen the month before.  

Then, college basketball ($63.1m), followed by ice hockey (24.1m), tennis ($20.0m), college football ($16.0m) and soccer ($14.7m).  

Cameron Saunders

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