Colorado Has Worst Sports Betting Handle Month Since September in April 2024

The top sportsbooks in Colorado released their financial reports for April last week, with results that were generally unimpressive. While not all negative, the numbers were consistent with trends seen across the country.

According to the April report from the Colorado Department of Revenue, both Colorado sports betting apps and retail providers experienced significant growth in wagering activity compared to the previous year. The state has now exceeded half a billion dollars in total handle for the eighth consecutive month.

After adding those numbers, Colorado sports betting became the sixth state to exceed $18 billion in lifetime handle, joining New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in the elite club.

Unfortunately, sports betting revenues decreased month-over-month, with the handle dropping from March when college basketball boosted overall wagering.

Colorado’s retail sports betting providers experienced a decline in profits due to a low hold rate and underwhelming performance, as the industry heads into the traditional summer slowdown.

$509.5 million April handle

In Colorado, sports bettors wagered a combined $509.5 million with the top sportsbooks in the state. Of that total, Colorado sports betting apps accounted for $507.1 million, while retail betting contributed nearly $2.5 million.

That represents a decrease of $83.5 million compared to March’s handle of nearly $593.1 million, but is a significant improvement of over $91.5 million when compared to April 2023, when the state accepted $417.8 million in bets. It is evident that residents are making the most of various Colorado sportsbook promotions.

In the first four months of 2024, Colorado sports betting sites and retail sportsbooks have seen a total of $2.24 billion in bets, marking an 18.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Revenues underwhelm

In April, the revenues of Colorado’s top sportsbooks were lackluster, largely attributed to a low win rate of only 6.3%. It has been nearly 19 months since Colorado’s sports betting providers, including leading sports betting apps, experienced a hold rate exceeding 10%.

In April 2024, Colorado’s sports betting revenues totaled $32 million, marking an unexpected 8.9% decrease from the previous year’s figure of nearly $35.2 million in April 2023. Additionally, this represented a significant 28.9% decline from the $45 million in revenues reported in March.

In April, Colorado sports betting sites generated $32.2 million in gross revenues, while retail sportsbooks in the state experienced a loss of $160K. In 2024, Colorado sportsbook revenues have reached $156.3 million, showing a 12.3% increase compared to the same four-month period in the previous year.

Colorado sports betting providers generated $68 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in $1.9 million in tax revenue. Year-to-date, sportsbooks in the Centennial State have contributed $10.2 million to state and local taxes, an increase of over $664,000 compared to the same period last year.

College Hoops hurt bottom line

Despite a significant increase in betting on the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments in Colorado this year, the state’s top sportsbooks suffered a $680K loss as the pre-tournament favorites, Connecticut and South Carolina, emerged victorious. This marked a major blow for Colorado’s sportsbooks, which saw over $8.5 million wagered on March Madness, representing a more than 50% increase compared to the previous year.

Non-major sports resulted in a monthly loss of $1.3 million for Colorado sports betting operators out of a total handle of $28.6 million.

In April, Colorado sportsbooks were buoyed by professional basketball, with the NBA generating a $168.6 million handle. This accounted for 33.3% of the total state handle and resulted in $7.2 million in winnings for sportsbooks, despite a modest 4.3% hold. NBA betting in Colorado experienced a significant 24.1% increase in handle compared to the previous year.

In April, baseball ranked as the second most popular sport for betting in Colorado, accounting for $85.8 million in wagers, which made up 16.9% of the total. Following baseball, tennis accounted for 6.4% of the handle, hockey generated 5.2%, soccer was at 4.1%, and table tennis maintained its position by contributing 2.6% to Colorado’s April sports betting total.

In April, parlay and same-game parlay bets remained the top revenue generators for our top sports betting sites in Colorado, bringing in $16.1 million in revenue from a $105.1 million handle and a 15.3% hold.