For eight months in a row, Colorado has recorded over $500 million in their betting handle

The Colorado Department of Revenue reported $509.5 million in a sports betting handle in April. That’s the eighth straight month that the state has wagered over half a million dollars. Colorado just finished their fourth year of being a legal commercial wagering state. On top of their monthly betting handle, Colorado has surpassed $18 billion in their all-time handle. The five other states to do that were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Nevada. In the first four months of 2024, the Centennial State wagered $2.24 billion. A whopping 18.7% versus this time in 2023. The state’s betting market continues to grow and become more popular. 

Colorado’s sports betting revenue in April 2024 was $32 million. Down 8.9% from April 2023. Revenue was also down in March. A staggering 28.9% difference year-to-year. Wagering from all sports betting apps in Colorado totaled $507.1 million. Operators had a 6.4% hold and kept $32 million in profit. For the second time in 2024, retail sportsbooks in Colorado posted a loss. In April, the state was eligible to tax $19.3 million in adjusted gross revenue. Roughly $1.9 million in tax receipts came from mobile sportsbook operators. 

Why was betting in Colorado so popular in April 2024?

With the men’s UConn Huskies and women’s South Carolina Gamecocks winning their respective NCAA tournaments, Colorado took a hit in April 2024. The public wasn’t afraid to ride both teams throughout the NCAA tournament where they were extremely profitable. Colorado’s year-over-year handle from April 2024 to April 2024 was up 50.7% to $8.5 million. They paid out $680,300 above that $8.5 million to winning bettors. When UConn men’s basketball and LSU women’s basketball won in 2023, Colorado operators took an even larger hit. Paying out close to $1.2 million in winning tickets. 

In Colorado’s “catch-all” category, bettors collected $1.3 million more than $28.6 wagered. For the centennial state, it was their first loss in this category since June 2022. One-third of Colorado’s betting handle came from professional basketball. The $169.6 million is an increase of 24.1% year-over-year. Professional baseball was second for a sports-specific betting handle in April 2024. Operating revenue declined from 6.9% to 5.7% despite $85.8 million in wagers. The largest source of revenue in April 2024 was paralys and same-game parlays. They had $16.1 million in revenue from $105.1 million worth of multi-leg bets. Additionally, the Masters helped bring in $11.7 million in their total golf handle. An all-time high for Colorado.