The Colorado Division of Gaming reported nearly $45 million in gross sports betting revenue for May on Thursday, keyed by a strong performance by sportsbooks for parlay wagers.

The $447.6 million in total handle was up 16.2% from last May, resulting in a 10.1% hold on gross revenue. That was the second-highest win rate in state history behind the 11.4% mark sportsbooks fashioned in September 2022. Handle was down 12.2% compared to the $509.5 million reported for April, but revenue was up 40.5% as the hold was almost 3.8 percentage points higher.

The state was able to levy taxes on $33.5 million in adjusted gross revenue, which was an increase of 52.3% from 12 months prior and 74% from April. That resulted in an inflow of $3.2 million into Colorado coffers, and the $13.4 million collected in the first five months of the year is nearly $1.7 million ahead of last year’s pace.

Among the limited number of states that publish handle and revenue figures for parlays, which also includes same game parlays, Colorado has often been an outlier in favor of the public when it comes to win rates.

After bettors limited operators to a sub-15% hold on such wagers spanning the first four months of the year, the house struck back with a 22.5% win rate in May to collect $20.9 million in winnings from $93.1 million in handle. It was the highest monthly hold for parlays by operators since attaining a 24.9% mark in September 2022 — also the last time it surpassed 20% — and the third-largest revenue haul for such wagers in the 49 months of betting in the Centennial State.

The strong effort by operators for parlays is largely in line with other states that publish figures and a contributing factor the nationwide hold on gross revenue for May thus far is 10.3% against $7.7 billion in known handle. Only neighboring Nevada failed to reach the 7% industry standard hold among the first 25 states to report and that was by one-hundredth of a percentage point.

1 New York $1.98B
2 New Jersey $838.9M
3 Penn. $591.9M
4 Mass. $587.3M
5 North Carolina $525.5M
6 Nevada $514.4M
7 COLORADO $447.6M
8 Maryland $431.5M
9 Tennessee $379.2M
10 Indiana $361.6M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) June 27, 2024

The Department of Revenue does not disclose handle and revenue figures by operator, but parlays were not the only category where Colorado sportsbooks enjoyed a solid May.

Basketball revenue was up 57.4% from last year to $7.9 million, with operators able to exhale after the Denver Nuggets were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals trying to repeat as NBA champions. The $147.5 million worth of wagers represented an 18.9% increase, as the hold climbed more than 1.1 percentage points to 5.4%.

The Avalanche joining the Nuggets on the sidelines in May after a second-round postseason exit contributed to $3.4 million in operator winnings from hockey wagers. That was nearly triple last year’s $1.14 million, as the hold surged to 14% against $24.2 million in handle.

There was also a record revenue haul from Colorado’s favorite niche sport for betting — table tennis. Operator winnings there totaled almost $1.2 million, $80,700 more than the previous record set in March. The $13.9 million in handle ranked second all-time, as total table tennis wagering surpassed $400 million.

Revenue in the catch-all “other” category had a positive swing of nearly $3 million from April, with operators collecting $1.7 million in winnings from $19.6 million in handle, good for an 8.5% hold. Baseball revenue totaled $3.8 million, down 22.8% from the previous May despite handle ticking 0.7% higher to $92.3 million.

Monthly revenue and handle records were set for boxing, aided by the marquee matchup of Tyson Fury and Alexander Usyk. The split-decision upset by Usyk seemed to go against bettors’ thinking, as the house reaped $879,500 in winnings from the spot against $2.2 million wagered, resulting in an eye-watering 39.4% win rate for operators.

The $2.68 billion in handle through the first five months of the year is up 18.2% from last year, slightly outpacing the 18% increase in gross revenue to $201.3 million. The 7.5% hold for 2024 is practically flat from the opening five months of last year. Adjusted gross revenue, meanwhile, is up 14.3% to $134.6 million.

It was another tough month for retail sportsbooks in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk, and Central City, as all locations in the three cities totaled just $20,381 in gross winnings from $1.6 million in wagers for a 1.3% win rate. Brick-and-mortar venues are up just $71,390 for the year while crafting a hold below 0.5% from $15.7 million worth of wagers.