The September sports betting numbers have been rolling in all month long, and this time, it was the state of Colorado that made an announcement. States have been setting new records throughout the US, and that was the case in Colorado as well.
The total sports betting handle for the month was $408.3 million, easily shattering the previous monthly record that was set back in January 2021. The previous high was $326 million, and both of the two biggest months had one major thing in common.
National Football League is the biggest sports betting market in the state of Colorado, and it helped the state see huge totals in handle. Both professional and college football are offered by sportsbooks in Colorado, and September was expected to be a popular month for sports bettors.
The gross gaming revenue for the month of September was also an astonishing number as the total was $22.7 million. That was an increase of more than $7 million as sportsbooks posted a GGR of just $15.2 million in August.
While the gross gaming revenue saw a huge jump in September, the total revenue that was reported to the state was a massive decrease. The net proceeds at sportsbooks in Colorado last month were just $1.8 million, which was a drop from $7.8 million in August.
The biggest reason for this decrease was the fact that sportsbooks paid out more than $20 million in free bets as a way to attract customers. This will ultimately even back out in Colorado as operators won’t feel the need to reward customers in order to boost sports betting business.
Football Handle Will Continue to Grow
The total sports betting handle for football was nearly $175 million in the month of September. NFL betting accounted for $125.75 million and betting on college football brought in $46.9 million in wagers.
The college football season will start to wrap up in November, but the NFL season will extend into 2021. Both of those markets will continue to bring in massive amounts of wagers, and it could lead to new records for the state.
Baseball was actually the second most popular sport to bet on during the month of September, as the handle was $68.7 million. Basketball came in fourth place for the month with $16.34 million in wagers, but the NBA season kicked off in October.
Table tennis has been a popular market since betting began last May, but it was actually tennis that came in fifth on the list in September.
Colorado in the Top Five?
With the huge jump in the September sports betting handle, there is a chance that Colorado can land in the top five when it comes to US sports betting markets. The top three spots are already locked up, but Colorado could fall anywhere from four to six.
New Jersey set a new US record in September as the state went over the $1 billion mark for the first time ever. That state is the clear leader in the US, and everyone else is simply competing for second place.
Nevada will likely land in the second spot for September as it had a total sports betting handle of $786.5 million. Pennsylvania is currently in the third position with a total handle of $587.7 million for the month of September.
Illinois has not yet announced its totals from the month, but it is usually a much larger market than Colorado. The other state to watch out for is Arizona, as that state just launched sports betting on September 9.