Yet another state has joined the fold, as Colorado officially launched online sports betting today.

One might wonder what sports there are to bet on, given the fact that all four of the major professional sports leagues are paused. But that hasn’t stopped Colorado lawmakers from moving forward with its original plans to launch online sportsbooks in the state on May 1.

 

Colorado Betting Apps at Launch

For operators launched their mobile sports betting apps in Colorado today. Those include:

Incredibly, and unlike any other state, Colorado has managed to approve six operators at launch, four of which were ready today.

As usual, we recommend DraftKings as the best overall sportsbook.

 

Colorado Online Sports Betting Brings Stiff Competition

In addition to the aforementioned sportsbook operators, FOX Bet, PointsBet, and even the yet to be launched Barstool Sportsbook will likely wind up in Colorado sometime in 2020, creating what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested legal sports betting states in the country.

What makes Colorado such a unique gaming market, in addition to its geography which serves as a border to seven other states, is that it is uber welcoming to operators and players alike.

Whereas there is a ton of competition in the New Jersey iGaming market, and Pennsylvania requires operators to pay ludicrously high 36% tax rates on revenue, Colorado is much more forgiving.

In essence, industry experts view Colorado–the westernmost U.S. state to offer legal sports betting–as a wide-open space. The state requires online sportsbooks to pay only 10% tax revenue, meaning the already traditionally aggressive promos we’ve seen in other states where sports betting is legal will only be exaggerated in Colorado.

With so much competition sure to enter a market offering such friendly tax rates, the effort to onboard the most players possible will be fierce.

 

Colorado Sports Betting Signup Bonuses and Promos

You can expect online sportsbooks in Colorado to offer extreme signup bonuses, perhaps as high as $1,000, along with deep discounted bets, odds boosts and other unique offers exclusive to the local Denver market– a major city with four professional sports teams. Thus far, only one city, Philadelphia, is truly blanketed by large scale online sports.

With New Jersey and PA sports betting live for the entirety of last season, Philly was the only of 14 markets that could claim all of its in-market fans could place legal online wagers. With Colorado’s sports betting launch, Denver will become the second. Given what we saw in terms of sportsbooks offering aggressive betting specials on the Eagles (and other marquee matchups) during the 2019 football season, there’s little doubt Colorado consumers will reap the benefit of similar offers.

So while the rollout may be slow, as we wait for a return to normalcy with sports, the state is positioned exceedingly well should there be a 2020 football season to accept bets through, perhaps, double digit apps available in the state. That include all of the big names mentioned earlier in this post.