Wanna bet? Wagers total $1.18B in calendar 2020

It’s new to Colorado, but apparently not new to Coloradans. Sports betting has taken the state by storm, with each month’s betting handle greater than the month before.

Authorized by voters in 2019, and implemented by the state in May last year, it almost seems as if sports betting, sports books and the language of wagering have been here forever.

Between political ads and sports-book ads on television, few other business sectors were able to buy time on the airwaves as last year wound toward a close.

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Through 2020 — keep in mind that sports betting didn’t begin until May 1, when professional and college teams were on COVID hiatus — almost $1.19 billion was bet on sports, and $3.4 million in taxes was collected and designated for the state’s water fund.

“Hitting the $1 billion market is a milestone event for the department, leading us to believe that the trust and competition in the industry are leading bettors from the black market to the regulated market,” said Dan Hartman, director of the Colorado Division of Gaming. 

While final numbers for January, not to mention the Super Bowl in February, are not yet available, Suzanne Karrer, communications manager for the specialized business group division of the Department of Revenue, reported that $31.2 million was wagered for the Super Bowl, with $14.3 million bet before the opening kickoff and the remaining $16.9 million bet during the game.

Whether the ratio of bets placed before versus during the game is interesting, it isn’t a statistic that the state normally tracks, Karrer said.

As authorized by voters, the 33 licensed casinos in the gambling towns of Blackhawk, Central City and Cripple Creek can apply for master licenses for both onsite sports betting and online betting. So far, the state has approved 17 licenses for online sports books and another 17 for onsite or “retail” books. 

Most of the casinos have signed with major sports-book players such as FanDuel, Draft Kings or BetMGM, although a few have built their own sports book businesses. FanDuel is the current market leader among sports books in the United States. Draft Kings comes in at No. 2.

All of them offer virtually the same services. In fact, the state controls what bets they can offer, but there’s no shortage of options.

State rules, as outlined on the state Department of Revenue website, permit betting in 55 categories of events from Major League Baseball and the National Football League to e-sports or NCAA events. The rules do not permit betting on high school sports.

Obscure sports such as the national sport of Finland — Pesapalla — are on Colorado’s approved list. 

Betters who choose Pesapalla can wager only on the winner or loser in 10 leagues. But those who choose basketball can wager in 365 categories of contests in 1,198 leagues.

Want to bet on competitions in the Albania Super League? Corn hole competitions? There are options for those. 

Colorado gamblers might dip into those obscure leagues if they get bored — or if the U.S. professional leagues are shut down for emergency reasons again — but typically, bettors in the state stick to the majors. The NFL was No. 1 last year, followed by the NBA, NCAA basketball, NCAA football and, rounding out the top five, table tennis with $10.9 million wagered in December.

Why table tennis? Who knows, although it was a game people could understand, and it was available for viewing when major leagues were shut down during the early COVID-19 days.

It’s enough to baffle even the most experienced sports bettor. Pity the beginner (Full disclosure: The author has yet to place a bet.)

Those interested in trying can find no end to resources online. Everything from bet terminology to strategy are available for those willing to part with their money.

But to start, the beginning bettors have to select a sports book or two. The choices are available on the Department of Revenue website, or there’s no shortage of books that advertise. 

While many of the books are similar, factors that may be important include whether it has live support, whether bitcoin is accepted, whether the book is mobile friendly, and whether the signup bonus for joining a particular book is lucrative. They all offer “free bets” to get started — surefire ways to get a return on your first bet. 

Once you pick a book, download the application onto your phone. Or go in person to the casino that holds the master license for that book.

Step two is signing up for an account within the app and funding your account. Beginners should start small. They can fund the accounts using credit cards, Paypal, checks, bitcoin, wire the money or, if in person, with cash.

Step three is deciding where you want to bet — what sport, what event, whether for the win or on a point spread or on the performance of a particular player or whatever. Remember, in basketball you’ve got 365 variations you can select.

Step four is to wait for the event to conclude, collect your winnings or lick your wounds.

Editor’s note: Bettors in Colorado must be 21 years of age and must be in the state. Geolocation technology in the apps will permit you to wager if physically in the state but not while on vacation out of state.