The sports betting numbers are in for Colorado, and the state saw a massive growth from July to August. Total sports betting handle checked in at $128.64 million, easily the biggest month for the growing industry.
Colorado officially launched sports betting on May 1, and the industry got off to a slow start as expected. In fact, the first three months of sports betting only brought in a handle of $123.5 million combined, which was lower than the August total.
The Colorado State Gaming Commission has reported that there are currently 13 online sportsbooks and eight retail sportsbooks in the state. That number is expected to double by the end of 2020 or the early part of 2021.
Gross gaming revenue in the state of Colorado checked in at $7.5 million, which was a 44.7% increase from July. The win percentage for August was calculated at 5.85%.
Online Wagering Leads the Way
It should come as no surprise that mobile betting led the way once again in the sports betting handle. Mobile betting accounted for all but about $2 million of the total sports betting handle for the month.
Mobile sports betting handle was announced at $126.7 million in August, which was more than a 116% increase from July. Retail wagering was surprisingly low, considering that a majority of the casinos had reopened at some point in July.
Basketball Sees Most Bets
The National Basketball Association began play in August, and that was a massive hit with sports bettors in Colorado. Basketball brought in the most bets, and the betting handle was reported at more than $38 million.
Baseball was the next most popular sport to bet on in the state, bringing in almost $22,8 million in sports betting handle. Hockey was third on the list at $13.6 million as the National Hockey League was conducting the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Table tennis still brought in more than $4.5 million in total sports betting handle after that sport carried the industry for nearly three months.
Bigger September Expected
Industry experts believe that the sports betting handle for September will be even bigger, especially with the return of NFL football. The National Football League is the most popular sport to bet on in the United States, and the Denver Broncos are popular within the state of Colorado.
Along with the return of football, there have been four new sports betting operators launched in September. TheScore Bet was the first to launch in September, beginning its operation on September 2.
William Hill was able to launch mobile sports betting on September 10, the same day that the NFL kicked off. The very next day, BetFred announced that they had gone live in both Colorado and Iowa.
Finally, SportsBetting.com is now up and running as the Carousel Group made that announcement on September 21.
