Colorado Sportsbooks Generate Over $55 Million in November Revenue

There's little doubt that our best sports betting sites wish the fall sports season would never end, with college and professional football, basketball, and hockey rolling along.

The Colorado Department of Revenue released the state’s November sports betting figures, revealing over $55.6 million in revenues. During this period, the sports betting handle reached over $647.9 million. 

These figures mark month-on-month increases for Colorado sports betting. Gross gaming revenues (GGR) increased by 41.5%, thanks to a stronger hold rate of 8.59% in November compared to 6.54% the prior month. Meanwhile, the sports betting handle jumped 7.7% from $601.2 million in October.

Growth compared to November 2023 highlighted the strong November 2024 performance. A poor 4.7% hold rate in November 2023 led to a GGR total of $28.5 million. The $55.6 million in November 2024 marked a 94.7% increase. Additionally, the sports betting handle grew by almost 6.5%. It was a banner month for Colorado sports betting apps.

Despite all the growth, the handle fell well below the record amount generated in December 2023, when the sports betting handle hit $716.4 million.

Increased sports betting handle powered by NBA

Unlike other US states, Colorado does not break down its sports betting numbers by operators, instead providing insights into the most popular sports. The most significant factor in the increased sports betting handle was NBA betting. The NBA season only started on October 22, so the days it was available in October generated a handle of $82.4 million, still the second-most bet on sports in that month. In November 2024, that betting handle increased to $148.4 million. 

Basketball betting accounted for 22.9% of the sports betting handle, making it Colorado’s second most popular sport. The most popular was football, which actually saw a slight decline in handle month-on-month from $168.8 million to $161.5 million. However, that handle was still a year-on-year increase of around $10 million. 

Other sports struggle

Other popular sports include NCAA football, which attracted $43.5 million in sports bets in November 2024, compared to $42 million the month before. After not appearing in October, NCAA basketball made it onto the list of popular sports in November, debuting with a handle of $29.8 million. Year-on-year that handle steeply declined from the $37.7 million generated in 2023.

Tennis betting was the fourth most popular betting option in October and slipped down to fifth in November, generating a handle of $23.5 million compared to $41.4 million the month prior. Other sports featured on the list include soccer ($20.6 million), table tennis ($17.2 million), ice hockey ($16.5 million), MMA ($3.2 million), and golf ($885,000).

Interestingly, “Other” sports that weren’t popular enough to make the list generated a handle of $17.71 million. Meanwhile, players walked away with profits of $17.73 million, meaning operators actually lost revenue on these sports. 

The Colorado Department of Revenue also provides insights into how popular parlay bets are, revealing over $164.8 million spent on these wagers. Parlays accounted for 25.4% of wagers in November. 

The Colorado sports betting industry experienced a shakeup in 2024 when the state issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada Sportsbook, stopping the offshore operator from accepting players in the Centennial State. That hasn’t stopped the state from displaying growth throughout the later months of 2024.