The Colorado Division of Gaming reported $593 million in sports betting handle for March on Tuesday, continuing the Centennial State’s strong year-over-year growth for the first quarter of 2024.

It was the fourth-highest total in 47 months of wagering and 20% higher than March 2023. Colorado has surpassed one-half billion dollars in handle in seven consecutive months, the longest such streak in state history.

Operators had a solid month, posting a 7.6% hold to claim $45 million in gross sports betting revenue. That ranked sixth in state history and was the eighth occasion winnings cleared $40 million. The state was able to levy taxes on $31.6 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in an inflow of $2.9 million into state tax coffers.

Revenue was down 1.9% compared to March 2023 as last year’s hold was 1.7 percentage points higher. Winnings for the first three months, however, were up 19.5% to $124.3 million, and the $1.73 billion handle represented a 17.7% increase year-over-year.

The state has collected $8.2 million in taxes thus far, which is $1.3 million ahead of last year’s pace through the first three months.

1 NEW YORK ~$5.6B
2 NEW JERSEY $4.13B
3 Illinois $2.36B
4 PENN. $2.32B
5 OHIO $2.29B
6 NEVADA $2.28B
7 MASS. $1.85B
8 COLORADO $1.73B
9 MARYLAND $1.524B
10 MICHIGAN $1.515B#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) April 30, 2024

March saw the Denver Nuggets put themselves in prime position to defend their NBA title and the Colorado Buffaloes reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament, action that proved worthy of a wager or two for bettors in the state. Basketball betting accounted for nearly 60% of the total handle, with pro basketball reaching an all-time monthly high of $299 million.

Operators came away with $17 million in revenue from those wagers, with the 5.7% hold being the highest in season since attaining a 7% win rate in March 2023. College hoops handle totaled $36.3 million, up 43.9% from February, while the $1.9 million in winnings resulted in a 5.2% hold.

Parlays and same-game parlays provided the biggest single chunk of revenue for Colorado operators, who won $18.8 million on the multi-leg bets. The house had a 15% hold on $125.4 million worth of such wagers, slightly below the year-to-date win rate of 15.2%.

Record monthly highs for revenue and handle were attained in table tennis. The niche sport that is wildly popular for wagering in Colorado gave operators close to $1.1 million in revenue for March, eclipsing the previous record set last September by $30,000. The $14.1 million worth of wagers placed erased February’s short-lived standard of $12.6 million.

The house again fared well in standard tennis, reaping $2.1 million in revenue from $29.3 million in handle as it topped the industry standard hold of 7% for the 20th consecutive month. Operators notched a 12.2% win rate on tennis wagers for the first quarter, with the $13.2 million in winnings being nearly half the $27.5 million claimed in all of 2023.

On the opposite end, bettors won $973,732 on top of their $6.2 million in golf wagers for March. It was the largest monthly loss reported by operators for golf bets, with the previous high payout being $713,761 in July 2022.

The Division of Gaming does not disclose handle and revenue figures by operator, though the hold for wagers placed through sports betting apps was 7.6%. Mobile sportsbooks claimed $44.9 million in gross revenue from $589.3 million worth of wagers, while their retail counterparts finished with a 4.4% hold in winning $165,800 from $3.7 million in handle.