The Colorado Division of Gaming released the monthly handle results. This proves that the sportsbook operators and the bettors in the Centennial State were looking forward to March.
Colorado’s Sports Betting Handle For March
Mobile and retail sportsbook operators that conduct business in the state brought in $505.6 million, which is an increase of 14.8 percent from February’s $440.5 million. The year-over-year numbers also noted a strong increase as March 2021’s handle accepted $301 million, which is up 68 percent.
Colorado is a prominent market in sports betting that sees a huge difference between its mobile and in-person handle figures. Bettors across the state wagered $500.2 million on online platforms, while only $5.4 million was registered on retail sportsbook locations.
March’s handle didn’t come close to overthrowing the record that was set in January 2022 of $573.7 million. However, this was the second-best month in Colorado’s history since bookmakers started accepting bets in May 2020.
Breaking Down Colorado’s Sports Betting Revenue For the Month
Overall, March was a good month for the sports betting industry as prominent markets like Colorado saw their numbers rebound. The gross gaming revenue increased by 43.9 percent from February’s $19.6 million. The year-over-year numbers are higher by 38.2 percent to $28.2 million.
Breaking down the $28.2 million of gross revenue for the month, $28.1 million came from mobile providers, while $179,235 was generated from in-person locations. Colorado’s sports betting handles over its history show that March 2022 was the third most lucrative month in the state’s history.
After promotional credits for this month cost $15.2 million, the state was able to collect $1.3 million in taxes as bettors won $477.4 million for the month. Still, this portrayed an increase of over 317.2 percent from February’s total of $314,731.
This is an interesting statistic because Colorado’s March 2022 hold percentage would have ranked fifth-lowest over the last twelve months. It was noted that taxes for the fiscal year through March 2022 were $9.28 million, which is 78.3 percent more than the fiscal year through March 2021 tax of $5.2 million.
During the current fiscal year, Colorado sports bettors wagered $3.7 billion, which is higher by 86 percent than compared to last year.
March Madness and Professional Basketball Took Over
There is no doubt that March Madness and the NBA made up the majority of the handle for the month. Professional basketball led the handle with $218.3 million, which made up 42.3 percent of the total handle. This noted an increase of 35.3 percent from February.
The bets should continue to come in for the remainder of the playoffs despite the Denver Nuggets being eliminated. Parlays brought in $99.7 million, which showed an increase of 19.7 percent from last month.
The March Madness tournament secured the third position with $97 million. This represents an increase of 36.6 percent from last year’s March Madness event, which brought in about $71 million.
Overall the NBA and college basketball accounted for 62 percent of the monthly handle by bringing in $314 million. Professional hockey came in fourth with $26 million as the Colorado Avalanche is the betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Tennis rounded out the top five with $23.4 million.