Colorado Politics

Colorado sets record for sports betting in January

Coloradans dropped more than $573 million on sports bets in January, the most in any given month since sports betting was legalized in the state and it went live in May 2020, the Colorado Division of Gaming announced Tuesday.

The $573,720,213 wagered in January was 24.3% higher than December, and 75.5 % higher than January 2021, when Coloradans placed $326,903,462 in bets. Almost all those bets, 99%, were made online or with sports betting apps.

Those betting football got the most action would be wrong: It was basketball with $163.5 million in total wagers. Football was close behind at $144 million.

January’s total likely ranked Colorado sixth in the U.S. for sports betting volume that month, according to PlayColorado, which tracks the state’s regulated sports betting market.

“The NFL’s decisions to add an extra week of regular-season games and expand the playoffs were a boon for sportsbooks, but the NBA continues to be the state’s hottest bet,” Ian St. Clair, lead analyst for PlayColorado.com, said in a news release. “With the Super Bowl in February and the NCAA Tournament in March, sportsbooks should continue to see heavy betting volume numbers before seasonally tapering off in spring.”

Taxes off that record amount totaled $1,447,952, an 88 % month-over-month increase.

Fiscal year taxes to date for January 2022, from July 2021, are $7,657,443, more than double for the same period in 2020-21. Those taxes were collected off total wagers of $2,803,624,162 for the current fiscal year, July 2021-January – a 93.5% increase in the total wagers made during the same period 2020-2021.

Betting companies won $34.6 million in gross revenue from January’s wagers, up 49.7% year-over-year and 40.1% month-over-month.

Colorado’s online sportsbooks have now collected $4.4 billion since launching in May 2020.

“Colorado’s emphasis on mobile betting continues to pay off with impressive results, month after month,” Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com network, which includes PlayColorado.com, said in the release. “Even with an onslaught of legalization over the last year, the state remains one of the most innovative and successful markets in the U.S.”

Gamblers place bets in the temporary sports betting area at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 2018.
Matt Rourke / AP

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