The Mystery of Table Tennis Betting’s Success in Colorado

Colorado released its May sports betting revenue report this week, but the overall totals aren’t what caught our eye.

Bettors in the Centennial State wagered just over $469 million that month, which was down over 5% from the previous year. While basketball and baseball accounted for the majority of those wagers, table tennis was the third-most popular sport. It beat out both hockey and soccer, which had major events going on.

This strange stat led us to do some digging, and what we found was a simple explanation with some troubling implications.

May Numbers Show Popularity of Table Tennis

When reviewing the Colorado Division of Gaming’s revenue reports, we learned that May’s surprising results were nothing new. Table tennis has consistently ranked inside the top four most popular sports for bettors in Colorado, regardless of the season. That includes March, where the sport’s betting handle trailed March Madness by just over $26 million. 

The sport’s popularity is almost entirely driven by online sports betting. The sport saw only $4,019.21 in retail wagers in May, but online sportsbooks took in more than $33 million. 

Bettors wagered about $12 million more on table tennis than on the NHL playoffs.

Availability Drives Table Tennis Bets

Professional table tennis is popular in some parts of the world, but not in the US. Americans think of it as recreational, making it nearly impossible for bettors to find on TV.

So that begs the question: why is table tennis so popular among Colorado bettors?

The answer lies in the sport's availability to bettors, with games going on around the world at all hours. That’s different from US sports like soccer and hockey, where games are played within a set time window each day. As a result, bettors can turn to table tennis whenever they get the itch to place a wager.

A Story About Addiction?

While we now understand why table tennis remains so popular in Colorado, we’re worried about what it means.

Betting on a sport simply because it's available can be a significant red flag for gambling addiction. Table Tennis’s popularity is being driven by players with an irresistible urge to wager. This leads them to seek out obscure leagues and sports, thereby increasing their risk by placing uninformed bets.

Colorado’s retail numbers back up this concern, showing that almost all table tennis wagers are being placed online. While some of those bettors may truly be fans of the sport, it seems likely that the sport’s popularity is largely driven by compulsive gambling.