Apparently, Colorado sports bettors fared a lot better on their Super Bowl bets than their March Madness wagering, which isn’t surprising given the level of chaos in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Colorado Department of Revenue reported $45.9 million in gross gaming revenue for the state’s retail and mobile sportsbooks in March, a massive step up from the $3.8 million net loss they took in February, when the Super Bowl was by far the biggest wagering event. The hold rate for operators, also known as the loss rate for bettors, was 9.3% statewide for March.
Of the $191.9 million wagered on basketball via mobile apps statewide in March, $92.3 million was bet on NCAA games. February 2023 was the best month ever for Colorado sports bettors in terms of total dollars won since the state legalized sports betting in 2020, narrowly edging out February 2021.
The overall sports betting handle in Colorado for March totaled $494.4 million, down 2.2% from March 2022, but up from the shorter month of February 2023’s total of $425.1 million. The state collected $3.1 million in taxes on sports betting in March, up 146.8% from February.
Big month for hoops action
Colorado bettors continue to show a strong interest in betting on basketball in general. The house paid out $175.9 million on basketball wagers, giving it a win rate of 9.3% on that sport for the month.
In February, the operators’ win rate on basketball was just 3.9%. Of the $94.3 million in NCAA basketball bets for March, the house paid out roughly $90 million.
Tennis continues to hold serve, with $25.1 million in total wagers on that sport in March. Coloradans had a decent month betting on the sport, with the house enjoying a hold rate of 8.3%. Hockey finished just a tick above tennis, taking $25.3 million in action in March.
The next three most popular betting sports were soccer, baseball, and golf, in that order. The Rockies opened their season in March, but played just two games in the month, accounting for two of their nine wins to this point in the MLB season.
As usual, parlay betting continues to hurt Colorado bettors. Coloradans bet $90.3 million on parlays or other combinations in March, winning just $75.5 million in those wagers and giving the house a hold rate of 13.2%.
Retail betting was up considerably in March from February, with $4.5 million bet at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, where the house had a 9.6% hold rate.
