Colorado Sports Betting Only Needs Governor Approval To Be Put On 2019 Ballot

• Colorado sports betting bill CO HB 1327 was approved by the State Senate on a 27-8 vote.
• The bill would allow the 33 casinos in Colorado to apply for a master sports betting license which they can use for online and/or land-based sports betting.
• If voters back the bill they can expect to see Colorado sportsbooks launch as early as 2020.

DENVER – A Colorado sports betting bill has beaten the odds and will now head to CO Governor Jared Polis’s office for approval.

The House Bill CO HB19-1327 was introduced on April 18, 2019, and in less than three weeks was approved through the House by a vote of 58-6 and last Friday was passed through the State Senate by a 27-8 vote.

However, if the bill is signed by Governor Polis it won’t automatically legalize sports betting, rather, it would put the issue on the 2019 ballot for voters in the state to decide.

The 2019 legislative session in Colorado ends this Friday which means Governor Polis has until the end of this week to decide whether or not to sign off on the measure.

What Would Sports Betting In Colorado Look Like?

Gambling in Colorado as a whole has always been restricted to the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek. This is because of a constitutional amendment that was passed in 1991 that authorized those locations to do so.

Land-based sports betting in CO would also be restricted to the casinos located in those cities, however, each licensed casino would be able to offer an online mobile sports betting platform which would be available to use anywhere in the state.

This was a crucial point for the bill’s sponsor, House Representative Alec Garnett, because of the unique weather conditions of the state.

“If something happens on Sunday morning, a weather system moves in and the Broncos are going to be playing in 6 inches of snow, the line’s going to move. It would be unrealistic to expect somebody to drive up to Black Hawk or Central City and change that bet that they made a couple of days before,” said Garnett in an interview with Colorado Public Radio.

The casinos would have to apply for a master license, the retail sports betting operator would have to apply for a separate license, and an internet sports betting operator would have to pay for a third license.

The actual cost of these applications has yet to be determined. Although, each casino with a master license would only be able to offer one online sports betting skin and would have to renew their license every two years.

The tax rate would be set at 10% for sports betting revenue through either in-person or online sports wagering and most of the proceeds to come from this gaming expansion would be set aside for the Colorado Water Plan.

When it comes to the types of sports that are available to bet on, only esports and high school sports would be prohibited. Betting on collegiate teams in Colorado as well as professional teams across the country would all be fair game.

News tags: CO HB 1327 | Colorado | sports betting