The Colorado Department of Revenue reported $509.5 million in sports betting handle for April on Friday, the eighth consecutive month wagering has topped one-half billion dollars.

The Centennial State wrapped up its fourth year of legal commercial wagering by becoming the sixth state to surpass $18 billion in all-time handle, joining New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The $2.24 billion in wagering through the first four months of 2024 is up 18.7% versus the same period last year.

Gross sports betting revenue for April totaled $32 million — down 8.9% from last year — as operators crafted a hold of 6.3%. Revenue was also down 28.9% compared to March’s haul of $45 million. Wagering via the state’s sports betting apps totaled $507.1 million, with operators attaining a 6.4% hold to keep $32.2 million of that action.

Retail sportsbooks posted a loss for the second time this year as the public came out $160,200 ahead on $2.4 million worth of bets placed. Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks located in Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek have won only $51,000 from $14.1 million in handle this year — creating a hold below 0.4%.

The state was eligible to tax $19.3 million in adjusted gross revenue, and all but $68 of the $1.9 million-plus in tax receipts came from Colorado’s mobile operators. The $10.2 million in year-to-date tax revenue is running $664,400 ahead of last year’s pace.

With odds-on NCAA Tournament favorites Connecticut and South Carolina winning the men’s and women’s editions, respectively, the betting public rode them to a win over the sportsbooks in April. Year-over-year handle surged 50.7% to $8.5 million, and the house paid out $680,300 above that amount in winning tickets. It was a smaller loss for operators than last year, when they lost close to $1.2 million when Connecticut and LSU were crowned champions.

Bettors also came up winners in the catch-all “other” category, collecting $1.3 million more than the $28.6 million they wagered. It was the first losing month in that category since June 2022, though the specific sports in that category vary from month-to-month as the Department of Revenue breaks out handle and revenue for the top 10 sports on a monthly basis.

Pro basketball wagering accounted for one-third of total April handle, and the $169.6 million wagered represented a 24.1% increase from last year. Revenue did not keep pace as the $7.2 million in operator winnings resulted in a 4.3% hold and was up 18.8%.

Baseball ranked second for sport-specific handle and revenue, though the $85.8 million worth of wagers was down 2.9% from April 2023. Operator revenue declined 6.9% as the 5.7% win rate was down one-quarter of a percentage point.

Parlay and same-game parlay wagering provided the largest source of revenue with $16.1 million, though the betting public limited the house to a 15.3% hold on $105.1 million worth of the multi-leg bets. Operators have claimed $497.7 million in all-time parlay revenue, representing more than 40% of the $1.23 billion in all-time winnings.

The Masters proved to be a solid draw as the $11.7 million in total golf handle represented an all-time monthly high. Revenue, though, plummeted 65.6% to $429,000 as the 3.7% hold was 8.3 percentage points lower than last year.

Table tennis handle surpassed $50 million for the calendar year with $13 million in wagers for April, second only to March’s $14.1 million. Operators were rebuffed in reaching $1 million in revenue for the second straight month as the 6.7% win rate resulted in $874,700 in winnings.

Tennis ($1.9 million) and soccer ($1.2 million) were the other sports with seven-figure hauls for operators, with the $15.1 million in year-to-date winnings for tennis already more than half the $27.5 million accumulated for all of 2023. Operators are still down $1.8 million in hockey for the year, though they collected $802,700 in April while posting a 3.1% hold on $26.3 million in handle.

1 New York $1.97B
2 New Jersey $1.04B
3 N. Carolina $648.9M
4 Penn. $646.1M
5 Mass. $603.3M
6 Nevada $569.2M
7 Virginia $563.5M
8 COLORADO $509.5M
9 Maryland $486.3M
10 Michigan $414.4M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) May 31, 2024

Year-to-date operator revenue has not climbed in lockstep with handle, up only 12.3% to $156.3 million. The near-7% hold through the first four months of the year is 0.4 percentage points lower compared to this time last year. Adjusted gross revenue is up only 5.6% at $101.1 million.