More than 99% of all Colorado sports betting happened online in March and sportsbooks logged $494.4 million in total handle, according to figures recently released by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Online CO sports betting accounted for $489.9 million, or 99.1%, of last month’s total dollars bet. The first quarter of 2023 has seen mobile sports betting dominate in the state, with more than 99% of bets placed online each month.
In-person sports betting in Colorado only takes place at three remote mountain towns well outside Denver.
March means college basketball betting madness
Colorado sports bettors dropped $94.3 million on March Madness betting this year, accounting for nearly 20% of all sports betting in the state. The NCAA Tournament helped spur a $26.2 million increase in college basketball betting from February.
Colorado is one of the few states that break out betting dollars by sport. Professional basketball ($193 million) has been the most popular interest in the Centennial State to begin the year. Its gap is only widening with no NFL betting to compete.
Ice hockey ($25.2 million), tennis ($25.1 million), and soccer ($19.4 million) were the other sports bettors gravitated toward most in March.
Revenue on rise in Colorado
Colorado sportsbooks held 9.3% in March, leading to the second-highest month of recorded revenue in state history at $45.9 million.
That trails only $51.3 million in revenue from September 2022. Revenue increased 63% last month compared to March 2022 ($28.2 million.)
Colorado collected $3.1 million in taxes last month. The state changed its structure for promotional deductions during the 2022 legislature.
Current state of Colorado sports betting
The CO sports betting market peaked in January 2022 when sportsbooks handled $573.7 million.
Total handle dropped slightly in the first quarter of 2023. Sportsbooks accepted more than $1.5 billion in bets in the first three months of 2022, compared to $1.46 billion to begin this year.
LSR projections point toward Kansas sports betting playing a minimal role in its neighbor’s handle dip, though figures are primarily flat year-over-year in Colorado.
