Colorado discusses a bill to allow voters decide on legal sports betting

Some Colorado lawmakers seek to ask voters in November whether sports betting should be legal in the state. Democratic House Majority Leader Alec Garnett said a bill introduced late Thursday with Republican Minority Leader Patrick Neville would place a betting question on the ballot.

If voters approve, a relatively constrained Colorado sports betting market could be operating by May 2020, Garnett said. State tax revenues would be limited — anywhere from roughly USD 4 million to USD 10 million a year, he said, The Associated Press reported.

Lawmakers would have to work quickly to pass the bill before Colorado’s legislative session ends May 3. Garnett said a major objective is to eliminate online black market betting, much of it run by shops outside the country.

Gambling is strictly controlled in Colorado. In 1990, voters approved legal gambling in three communities, with certain limited exceptions. Gambling also is offered by the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian tribes. Games are generally restricted to card games, slots and roulette. Payouts are relatively limited compared with gambling operations in other states, and maximum bets are USD 100.

Voters would be asked whether to apply a 10% flat tax on net sports betting proceeds. If approved, businesses can apply for licenses. The question comes in the form of a tax hike request because any Colorado tax increase, by law, must be approved by voters.

The 17 companies operating 33 casinos in Colorado could seek licenses that would include online and sports gambling apps and limited onsite betting, Garnett stated. Operators would determine their own cash limits on bets, which could apply to professional and college sports teams, including inside Colorado. The license would give them permission to open a physical sportsbook at one of their casinos and to contract with a company of their choosing to operate an online sports book or cell phone app.

Tax revenue would go to a state water plan that seeks to meet the needs of the growing metropolitan Denver area and agricultural communities. Some of the money also could go to gambling addiction programs, Garnett said. While the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado is officially neutral on the legislation, its president, Larry Wall, would like to see more money devoted to the fight against gambling addiction — a problem he fears may grow exponentially should voters in the state make this particular move.

"Being able to place a legal bet with your cell phone from your couch without having to go to a casino would be as addictive as logging on to Facebook or Twitter," Wall predicts.

Republican Sen. John Cooke and Democratic Sen. Kerry Donovan are sponsoring the bill in that chamber. Bill drafters followed legal opinions by attorneys general Cynthia Coffman and her successor, Phil Weiser, that Colorado’s constitutional restrictions on gambling don’t apply to sports betting — but its criminal code does, and lawmakers would have to change that if voters want it legalized.

“This is a market that is going to continue to mature,” Garnett said of states adopting or pursuing sports betting. Colorado, he added, has “quite a libertarian streak. If you want to (bet), government shouldn’t be the one that says you can’t.”

It’s unknown how Colorado’s proposal would affect gambling offered by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Tribe. The tribes had agreed in a compact with the state to conduct limited gambling with the same USD 100 bet limits that other casinos in Colorado adhere to.