Coloradans wagered $392.3 million last month at retail and online sportsbooks, a 22.4% decrease from March’s $505.6 million.
Colorado sports betting generated less action in April compared to March, but the state’s handle last month was significantly higher than a year earlier.
Coloradans wagered $392.3 million last month at retail and online sportsbooks, a 22.4% decrease from March’s $505.6 million, according to figures released Friday by the Colorado Division of Gaming (CDG).
Gross gaming revenue from sports betting in Colorado was approximately $22.6 million, making for a total win percentage for the books of 5.75%. Total net sports betting proceeds were $11.5 million in April.
The tax collected from sports betting was also down from the prior month. Colorado collected $1.23 million from bookmakers in April, a 6.19% decrease from March’s $1.31 million.
However, a downturn in wagering last month was not completely unexpected. The conclusion of professional football and college basketball left a void for bettors.
Good news in numbers
And all was not dire for the Centennial State. The year-over-year figures showed a 60.5% increase in handle last month compared to April 2021’s wagering of nearly $301 million.
Colorado’s handle numbers for the state’s fiscal year are also looking sunnier. The total handle for July 2021 to April 2022 was $4.1 billion, which was an 83.2% increase from the same period from 2020 to 2021.
Colorado has had legal sports betting since May 2020, and the state is now quickly approaching another milestone, as it is closing in on the $7-billion mark for total handle. As of the end of April, the state’s sportsbooks had taken $6.95 billion in wagers.
Roundball rocks
With no football or college basketball, it was professional basketball that generated the most action in Colorado last month, with $146.4 million in wagering. Still, pro-basketball betting was down 35% from March’s $218.3 million in handle.
The sport with the next-highest handle for April in Colorado was baseball at $69.9 million. That was a huge jump from March’s $537,365.68 in baseball-related betting, which makes sense since Major League Baseball’s regular season began in April.
Hockey was third with a little more than $26 million in handle for April. That is the same number as March.
Soccer was fourth at $15.6 million. Golf was next at $10.4 million. College basketball did collect nearly $9 million in April since the title game was the first week of the month.
Meanwhile, mixed martial arts did about $3.1 million in handle last month, followed by pro football at $2.4 million. Table tennis, which has proven oddly popular in the state (as demonstrated by the $7.6 million in handle generated in January), was worth another $1.4 million in bets for Colorado bookies last month.
https://www.covers.com/industry/colorado-sports-betting-april-7b-2022