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 men's basketball 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 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.