The news was very good for Colorado’s sportsbooks in May as the collective win rate was the second-highest ever in its history, trailing only September 2022 in that category.
Rocky Mountain High
A robust handle coupled with an impressive hold equals gold for sportsbooks wherever they are located. But in May, it was Colorado’s sportsbooks that enjoyed the fruits of their labor. The Colorado Department of Revenue released its May report and it revealed that the 10.1% hold was the state’s second highest ever, behind only September 2022 which showed an 11.4% win rate.
But if we peel back the onion, we see that parlays were the bane of Colorado’s sports bettors as evidenced by the 22.5% win rate on those multi-leg wagers, a historic high in an industry that began on May 1, 2020. May’s $447.6 million handle was a 16.2% increase over May 2023 and placed Colorado as No. 7 in the nation in total gross wagers. Over the first five months, Colorado has seen its handle soar 18.2% over the first five months of last year to $2.68 billion.
Big Numbers
As for gross revenue, the state’s sportsbook operators collected nearly $45 million in May which was nearly $14 million higher than last year’s gross receipts. A snapshot of the year-to-date revenue shows the sports betting sites generating $134.6 million in adjusted gross revenue which is a 14.3% spike over the same time last year.
The taxman also took a cut equaling $3.2 million for the month of the sports betting provider’s adjusted gross revenues bringing the year-to-date contribution to $13.4 million, $1.7 million higher than last year’s tax collections after the first five months of the year.
Handle Breakdown
Although the Colorado Department of Revenue does not list individual sportsbooks’ monthly handles, adjust gross revenues, and hold, it does separate parlay wagering into its own category and reveals the corresponding financial reports. A total of $91.1 million in wagers were placed on parlays, which generated $20.9 million due to the historically high 22.5% win rate.
Basketball Leads the Way
Basketball betting led the way in May with the Denver Nuggets still in action until they were ousted in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals by the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 19th. A sports-leading $147.4 million in basketball bets were placed in May which delivered $7.9 million in revenues.
Surprisingly, this number was up a whopping 54% from last year despite the Nuggets playing through the entire month of May 2023 and into June 2023 when they captured the franchise’s first NBA title.
Baseball betting was second in the state with $92.3 million in bets which generated $3.8 million in revenues. Hockey betting came next with a monthly handle of $24.2 million and $3.4 million in profits. May 2024’s hockey revenues dwarfed May 2023 by over $2.2 million.
Miscellaneous sports consisting of tennis, golf, and auto racing comprised $19.6 million of May’s sports betting pie which produced $1.7 million in revenues. But in a category unto itself, table tennis continues to do eye-popping numbers in the Centennial State with $13.9 million in May wagers and almost $1.2 million in revenues for the sportsbooks. A staggering $400 million has been bet on table tennis in Colorado over the state’s 24 months in operation as of the end of May.
