Colorado sports betting edges higher in May amid playoffs
Playoff runs by the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche helped push sports betting totals slightly higher in May, the Colorado Department of Revenue reported Friday.
The nearly $249 million bet last month was up 1.9% from April and nearly 10 times the $25.6 million bet in May 2020; that was the first month of legal wagering in Colorado, when most major sports were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sports wagering in Colorado totaled $1.39 billion in the first five months of 2021 – the state’s betting totals never reached that level last year in eight months of wagering.
Professional basketball was the top sport in May with $86.9 million in wagers, followed by professional baseball with $49.1 million and professional hockey with $15.5 million. Basketball and hockey wagers were helped by the Nuggets and Avalanche both playing in two rounds of playoffs, according to Jessica Welman, an analyst for PlayColorado.com, a sports betting news, analysis and research site.
Wayne Heilman, The Gazette
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