Colorado sports betting 2020: Latest on legal gambling options

In November 2019, voters in Colorado on a ballot referendum passed Proposition DD to legalize sports betting in the state, but by a very slim margin. The narrow margin was a surprise because the bill had bipartisan support and only token opposition. It allowed the state's 17 casino operators (at the time, now many more) to apply for licenses for physical or online sportsbooks. Revenue from sports betting is to be spent on Colorado's Water Plan.

Online Gambling Colorado Laws

Colorado became the 18th state to accept legal sports wagers on May 1, 2020, and bettors can wager both in person at brick-and-mortar sportsbook as well as full mobile/online wagering. Sportsbooks are subject to a 10 percent tax rate. The state's General Assembly had previously passed House Bill 1327 in May 2019, which allowed legal sports betting in the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek.

The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission and the Colorado Division of Gaming are the authorities over the regulation of the legalized sports betting in the state.

The Colorado Water Plan was put into place in 2015 because the state already is facing major water shortages, and with a booming population that will only increase. The tax on sports betting itself will not generate enough revenue to cover even the most conservative estimates of how much the Water Plan will cost the state.

Colorado Sports Betting Legislation

Many major nationwide sportsbooks went live in Colorado on May 1 and more are on the way. In June, Sky Ute Casino and Resort via the Southern Ute Indian Tribe launched the first tribal sports betting app in any US market.

Anyone at least 21 years of age located inside the state can register, deposit and bet. Unlike some states, there is no need to visit a physical sportsbook to register for an online account.

In mid-June, the NFL's Broncos agreed to a multiyear deal with FanDuel to make the sportsbook the team's official sports betting and daily fantasy football partner. The Broncos were the first NFL team to formally announce such an agreement. FanDuel will be able to use the Broncos' logos in advertising inside the state and FanDuel advertising will be seen inside Empower Field at Mile High as well as on the team's website, radio and TV broadcasts. No active players or coaches can appear in any advertising.

It will definitely not be the last partnership between a major sportsbook and an NFL team.

Colorado Sports Betting 

Wagering on professional and collegiate sports is allowed; some states will not allow wagering on in-state NCAA teams. Prop betting is prohibited. As noted, players must 21 to bet in a physical sportsbook or online. If bettors have account in another state and that provider launches in Colorado, they still must open a new account. With geo-location technology, betting online is only allowed inside state lines.

Fans in the Centennial State have been title-starved outside of the Broncos, who were 4.5-point underdogs in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season and upset the one-loss Carolina Panthers 24-10. That was Peyton Manning's final NFL game and remains the only Super Bowl entering the 2020 season where the underdog won and the total also went Under. It was set at 43 for that one, the lowest SB total of the 2010s.

The Denver Nuggets have never even reached the NBA Finals, and the Colorado Rockies' lone trip to the World Series ended in a sweep against the Boston Red Sox in 2007. The Colorado Avalanche most recently won a Stanley Cup in 2001 but have the best (only?) chance of the four professional teams to add another championship in 2020.

In college football, the University of Colorado's lone national championship came in 1990, and the Buffs are now a bottom-rung Pac-12 team. CU's men's basketball hasn't reached the NCAA Tournament since 2016 – it might have in 2020 if the Big Dance wasn't canceled -- or won a game in it since 2014.  The University of Denver does have a powerhouse Division I hockey program. 

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