Football seems like the perfect sport for wagering. And let’s be honest, there really is nothing better than a full Saturday or Sunday of watching games and making bets. But truly, one of the best sports for wagering is tennis. Really.
It’s definitely not as popular as the mainstream team sports, but unlike those other sports, no matter the day and no matter the time, you can find a tennis match on television and available for wagering.
From Sunday through Saturday, and in time zones all across the world, tennis is being played. And across 11 months. If you are a Colorado sportsbook customer who wants to place wagers at any time the mood strikes, tennis is the sport for you.
World Tennis Structure
ATP Tour
The ATP is the top tier of men’s tennis, and it has more than 50 official events spread out over nearly an entire year of tennis. The first week of January begins with tennis in Australia, and the season ends with the ATP Finals at the end of November. There is a tournament every week of the year, and often more than one that you can wager.
WTA Tour
The WTA is the governing body of women’s tennis, with the top tier of players competing in WTA Premier tour events. The WTA season also starts the first week of January in Australia, and 50 tournaments on six continents later, it ends the week before Christmas.
ITF
The International Tennis Federation is responsible for organizing and hosting the four Grand Slam tournaments – the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open – as well as international team events. Those include the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and the tennis competition at the Summer Olympics.
Where to Bet Tennis in Colorado
If you would like to place your tennis bets in person with a teller at a retail sportsbook, prepare to drive. By law, all brick-and-mortar sportsbooks must be inside a retail casino, and those are limited to the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek.
Current retail sportsbooks in Colorado can be found at the following casinos:
Black Hawk (near Denver)
- Monarch Casino (BetMonarch)
- Ameristar Casino Black Hawk (Penn National)
- Golden Mardi Gras Casino (DraftKings)
- Isle of Capri Casino (William Hill)
- Red Dolly Casino (Elite Gaming)
- Saratoga Casino (Betfred)
Cripple Creek (near Colorado Springs)
- Wildwood Casino (BetWildwood)
- Johnny Nolon’s Casino (ISI)
If you don’t find it desirable or convenient to drive into the mountains to place your bet on the French Open, there is an ever-growing market of online and mobile sportsbooks for you to choose from.
In Colorado, those online and mobile options are:
- Betfred
- BetMGM
- BetMonarch
- BetRivers
- BetWildwood
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- FOX Bet
- SBK
- Sky Ute Sportsbook
- theScore Bet
- William Hill
Many sportsbooks offer tennis-specific bonuses and promotions, including tennis accumulator bonuses. As an example, place a pre-match accumulator of two or more tennis bets – like “To Win Match” and “First Set Winner” – and if you win, you will receive a bonus of between 5% and 70%, depending on the number of selections. And bonuses like that are withdrawable in cash.
So be sure to find the sportsbook that offers you the bonuses you’re most likely to use.
Types of Tennis Bets in Colorado
Match Betting: The simplest tennis bet is to place a wager on the winner of an individual match. What makes these bets appealing is their predictability, especially in the early rounds of a tournament.
You’re only looking at two players, and then finding where the value is on the posted lines. It’s just a straight moneyline bet that is resolved in a couple of hours, allowing you to turn your attention to more betting.
Spread Betting: When there is a clear favorite in a match and putting your money down on that player is less appealing because of the small payout, this is where game spread betting becomes a perfect way to wager instead. You will see a line like Serena Williams -4.5, which means that when totaling the number of games won in a match, Williams must win five more games than her opponent for the bet to win.
Along with a game spread, you’ll also see a set spread. If Novak Djokovic is listed at -1.5, he must win the match 3-0 or 3-1 for a bet on him to pay.
Over/Under: Another wager type that can be bet a couple of different ways, an over/under bet (also called totals bet) can be placed on the number of games in a match, as well as the number of sets. You may see a game over/under line of 22.5, and if you take the over and the match has 23 or more games played, you win.
A set over/under might be listed at 4.5, which means that if you take the under and the match fails to go the full distance of five sets, you win.
Tournament Winner: This is a bet that works exactly as it sounds. Put your money down on the player you think will win in the final and ultimately lift the trophy, and if your bet wins, you will typically get a good payout.
The odds on a tournament winner are always longer than odds on an individual match, so there is money to be made. But the real money is made when correctly predicting an upset tournament winner, which is, of course, never easy to do.
Futures: This is essentially picking a tournament winner, but instead of making a bet as the tournament begins, you are making a bet on tournaments that are far off in the future.
Live Tennis Betting in Colorado
A tennis match is made up of hundreds of individual events, making it one of the best sports around for live betting.
You can bet on the match-winner as the match is progressing, with odds updating after each point. You can wager on the winner of each of those points, as well as the exact score of each game and set.
Next game to deuce is a simple yes/no live wager that says the next game played will reach a deuce at least once. First to reach two, three, four, or five games in a set, over/under on aces, break points, games in match, and games in current set are all possible live wagers.
Tennis really can be one of the most exciting sports to bet live.
Tips for Betting Tennis in Colorado
There are some great tools on the internet for comparing player to player. Use them. Use all of them. And make sure to focus on how those players do in head-to-head matches.
This information can be used in a couple of ways. The obvious is to see how someone does against another player. But another way is to find players without much history against one another.
That means they are lesser-known, and the bookmakers might have made a mistake when setting the odds.
Surfaces are a big deal in tennis. As an example, there is no better player on clay than Rafael Nadal. He’s always going to be a favorite on a clay court. But he’s not as dominant on the other surfaces because they cater to different types of players.
A big serve is the most effective on a hard surface. It picks up speed and becomes harder to return.
But a serve-and-volley player is going to do better on a grass surface. So always know the surface of the court and the style the player prefers to play.
Like other athletes, tennis players go through hot streaks and cold streaks. So before placing that bet on a player to win Wimbledon, look at the tuneup tournaments that the player entered prior to Wimbledon.
How did they play? Are they in good form? Did they suffer any injuries, even if minor? Recent information is your best information.
Things to Avoid When Betting Tennis in Colorado
Do not chase your losses or use any of the betting systems that suggest you double your bets after a loss, allowing you to get back to even. Those are built for even games of chance like roulette.
A tennis match is the opposite of that, and if you start chasing a loss, there’s a good chance you’ll be chasing even bigger losses. Just stick with your plan and move on to the next bet.
Don’t think because you have had success betting men’s tennis that you will naturally do well at women’s tennis. They often play at the same tournaments, but the men’s and women’s game are two different sports.
Styles are different, matches look different and have different lengths, officials are different, and they play different season schedules.
Many people have success betting on both men’s and women’s tennis, but that’s because they study both the men’s and women’s tours.
FAQ About Tennis Betting in Colorado
Who is eligible to open a sportsbook account and place tennis wagers in Colorado?
The gambling and sports wagering legal standard is 21 years old, which is what the law in Colorado says. You must be at least 21 to open a sportsbook account. And since the regulations and tax rates of each state are different, you must be within Colorado state lines when placing wagers.
What happens to my wager if a player retires during live betting?
If the bet has already been fulfilled, like on a set already completed, the bet will still be good. But if a bet hasn’t yet been fulfilled, like a bet on total games played, the wager will be considered to have “no action.” Your wager amount will be returned in cases like this.