Colorado Hits $1.13bn in Wagers through December 2020

The state of Colorado has crossed the $1-billion threshold in sports betting handle, marking a continuous growth for the sports betting industry in the state in 2020.

Colorado’s December Betting Results Remain Strong

Colorado’s sports betting handle continues to grow in December after the Centennial State had another busy month in which it posted a total of $284.6 million in bets. Interest in sports betting was driven by professional football and football and the ongoing college basketball tournaments around the country.

Comparing total handle to November, December’s results were up 23.1% in a continuous upward trend. However, the amount paid out to sports fans fell by 36.7% to $5.67 million explained by the fact that the many sports betting events were driving more people to bet, and more people to jump the gun.

To keep the interest in the activity high, Colorado’s sportsbooks remained committed to delivering top-notch promotional offers throughout the month, disbursing a total of $11 million in various promos.

More importantly, though, Colorado has been on an eight-month growth streak with the total sports betting handle going up every month since May. The results were welcome by the Colorado Division of Gaming, which was excited to see the state hit over $1 billion in total wagers placed in the state since sports betting began.

Tax Collection and Sports Popularity Soars

The $1.19 billion in total bets in 2020 has driven $3.4 million in tax revenue for the state coffers with a 10% tax on profits for all sportsbooks in the state, the CDG explained. Apart from college basketball and pro football, though, college football and table tennis also drove steady results for the state.

NCAAF generated $14.1 million in total wagers followed by table tennis with $11 million. Table tennis began picking up around the time the pandemic first struck, and when all other sports were suspended.

Interestingly, this fairly exotic sport for the US audience has carried over and it now continues to generate one of the strongest results in terms of sports betting handle.

Other interesting aspects were parlays and combination bets which amounted to $46.4 million during the period. More importantly, an estimated 80% of the total sports bets made were handled online, which sets a clear trend ahead of any state that is attempting to now legalize sports betting. Overall, sportsbooks paid back 94% of the money sports fans wagered