Colorado sets new sports betting record with $574m handle in January

Players in Colorado wagered a record $573.7m on sports in January, surpassing $500m for the first time.

US.- Colorado sportsbooks have set a new record with a $573.7m handle in January. It’s the first time the state surpassed $500m in sports wagering in one month. The figure represents a 75.5 per cent increase from January 2021 ($326.9m) and a 24.3 per cent rise from December 2021 ($461.4m), according to data from the Colorado Division of Gaming.

The amount spent smashed the previous record set in October 2021 ($491.5m) by 16.7 per cent. Online wagers in January amounted to $567.1m, while $6.6m was bet at retail sportsbooks across the state. The state’s online sportsbooks have now collected $4.4bn since their May 2020 launch.

NBA wagers led the way at $163.6m, up from December’s $125.5m, while football betting reached $144.1m. College basketball produced $63.1m in bets in January, followed by ice hockey and tennis at $24.7m and $20m respectively.

Ian St Clair, lead analyst for PlayColorado.com, said: “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. 

“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.”

As for gross gaming revenue, $34.6m was won by Colorado’s sportsbooks in the first month of 2022, a 49.7 per cent improvement year-on-year (January 2021: $22.7m) and up 40.1 per cent from December’s $24.6m.

See also: Colorado sports betting handle reaches almost $4bn in 2021