Football Not King Of Colorado Sports Betting At End Of Third Year – Legal Sports Report

Colorado sports bettors spent $417.8 million in April, capping off the third year of legal sports betting in a state where the country’s most-popular game is not the betting champion.

While it is a 15.5% decrease in betting handle from March ($494.4 million), it is a 6.5% increase from the same month last year ($392.3 million.) Sportsbooks posted an 8.4% win rate in April, generating $35 million in CO sports betting revenue. Colorado received $2.58 million in sports betting taxes.

According to figures recently Friday by the Colorado Division of Gaming, sportsbooks handled $136.6 million in April basketball bets. Baseball was next with $88.4 million in bets. Colorado is one of the few states that breaks down handle by sport.

Fiscal year handle and taxes rise

Colorado sports betting handle is $4.48 billion this fiscal year to date, an 8% increase over last fiscal year ($4.14 billion) to this point.

The Centennial State collected $23 million in taxes during that time, a 118% increase compared to 2022 ($10.5 million.)

The state fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

CO sports betting hits fourth year

Legal sportsbooks in Colorado launched in May 2020. After 36 months, sportsbooks handled more than $12 billion in bets and produced $817 million in revenue.

According to additional figures recently released by the Colorado Division of Gaming, the state also received $43.8 million in tax revenue between May 2020 and April 2023.

In overall monthly handle, Colorado consistently performs as a top 10 US sports betting market. According to LSR data, in 2022, it ranked third in per-capita betting at nearly $889 per person.

Most popular markets in Colorado sports betting

NBA basketball is the sport of choice for bettors, with nearly $3 billion in bets during the last three years. NFL betting was the second-most popular, with sportsbooks handling $1.9 billion in football bets.

Between November 2022 and January 2023, sportsbooks handled $468 million in basketball bets, compared to $394.5 million in football. During what is typically the height of the NFL betting season, Colorado sports bettors spent $73.5 million more on basketball.

Baseball betting handle reached $1.2 billion during Colorado’s first three years of sports betting. No other sport reached $800 million in handle during that time.