Figures from the Colorado Department of Revenue highlight a year-over-year rise of 2.3% in the state's sports wagering handle, which settled at $6.45bn.
Indeed, this figure was largely dominated by online wagers, which accounted for $6.41bn of the overall figure, rising by 2.4% in comparison to results from fiscal year 2025. Retail sports bets made up the remaining $34.9m, marking its fourth consecutive year-over-year decline, down 6.6% over the past 12 months.
Although retail and overall handles both rose, they too were subject to something of a slowdown, as both observed the smallest year-over-year increases on record as the state's market begins to plateau six years after its initial sports betting regulation in 2020.
Since that time, the Department of Revenue has confirmed that Colorado residents have wagered some $31.56bn on sports, with online and retail betting accounting for $31.29bn and $265.16m, respectively.
Colorado FY26 Sports Wagering Handle by Sport ($m)
Elsewhere, the state has also confirmed wagering figures from the 2026 World Cup, unveiling a betting handle of $60.24m for the tournament, up 245.06% in comparison to the amount wagered by Colorado residents during the 2022 World Cup. These figures, however, only represent a small portion of World Cup wagering as the tournament ran past the report's June 30 cutoff date - with the majority being held through July.
As such, basketball remained by far the most wagered on sport in the state during the fiscal year, with $1.35bn bet on the sport during the 12 months – $1.34bn wagering online and $7.29m via retail outlets. Football followed behind in second place, taking $853.65m in wagers, $843.42m online and $10.24m through retail – surpassing basketball's retail popularity. Baseball and table tennis followed behind, reporting handles of $548.11m and $346.43m, respectively. The overall soccer handle for fiscal year 2026 settled at $344.10m.
This latest update closely follows the news that Colorado's sports betting set a new tax revenue record of $47.2m during the previous fiscal year.
Colorado's capital city of Denver was widely expected to be a host city for the 2026 World Cup. However, city officials decided against it, with reports indicating FIFA's asking price was too high...
