Colorado sports betting continues to ramp up after its May 1 launch, and the return of US sports certainly helped. But one might question why those sports haven’t helped more.
Colorado’s sportsbooks reported handle of $59.2 million in July, the state’s third month of operations. That’s up 55.2% from June’s $38.1 million.
Sports betting revenue was $5.2 million, which is good for 8.8% hold, according to the state report.
Nearly $60 million in bets is nothing to sneeze at, of course, but it feels low for a market that now has 10 mobile CO sports betting options. Those online sportsbooks accounted for 99% of overall handle in July.
Colorado sports betting market still young
It’s most likely too early for the Colorado sports betting market to feel the kind of bump major sports brought to other states.
Just look at the results out of Nevada and New Jersey. Nevada did $65.4 million in handle on baseball alone last month while NJ did $59.6 million in completed baseball bets, both eclipsing Colorado’s total for July.
That compares to just $9.2 million taken on MLB games in Colorado after the season’s July 23 opening.
The biggest difference? Players. And it doesn’t appear there’s a lack of marketing, with PlayColorado.com taking note of the aggressive advertising in the state.
It’s no secret that professional football is the favorite for most interested in sports betting, and there’s no reason Colorado would be any different. That should mean a significant bump in players – and handle – once NFL betting begins in September.
Basketball ranked fifth
Basketball handle grew more than seven times over June with the eight NBA games at the end of July, but the $3.3 million was only good for fifth in the state.
Handle on soccer ($7.6 million), table tennis ($5.1 million) and golf ($4.8 million) all had more action than basketball.
That also makes sense for the young market considering those three sports were readily available all month.
More operators launching soon
There will be multiple operators rushing to launch in time for NFL season in Colorado.
PlayUp, PointsBet and theScore Bet should all be nearing launches in Colorado sometime soon.
There are also plenty of other big names that haven’t launched yet, including the yet-to-be-seen Barstool Sportsbook, bet365 and SuperBook.
