Colorado Online Sports Betting

Colorado voters narrowly approved a referendum on November 5 2019 legalizing sports betting including land-based and online sports betting. Proposition DD passed the referendum by 40 000 votes out of the almost 1.5 million votes cast in a razor-thin majority, and consequently, full-blown sports betting online and at retail locations in the Mile High State eventually began for real on May 1 2020.

The Colorado Model is rapidly becoming the blueprint for other states to follow, given the State welcoming big global sports betting companies and adopting an open minded approach to doing business with the sports leagues.

It’s the type of business-orientated professional environment where you might expect to also welcome online casinos, sooner rather than later.

Given the introduction of sports betting, Colorado has a full set of gaming options to choose from excluding only online casinos (for now).

Players in Colorado can choose from the following legal options; DFS, Horse Racing, Charitable Gaming, a State Lottery (both land-based and online), Sports and eSports wagering (both land-based and online), Bricks-and-Mortar Casinos and poker rooms.

The gambling tax rate on winnings in the state of Colorado is 4%.

Large gambling wins over $1200 may be subject to Federal Taxes.

Contact your tax attorney for full details if you have a big win.

Colorado hovers around the norm for many states in terms of its minimum age requirements for the different types of legal betting available; a 21 years-of-age requirement to bet in the State’s Casinos, and 18 years-of-age for all other wagering types.

Following the successful adoption of sports betting in Colorado, the following online sports betting platforms are either already operational or about to become so soon;

Colorado Online Sportsbooks already live (as at May 2021);

• PlayUp Sportsbook
• Bet Maverick
• WynnBet
• Circa Sports
• BetAmerica
• BetMGM
• BetMonarch
• BetRivers
• DraftKings Sportsbook
• FanDuel Sportsbook
• Fox Bet
• Smarkets (SBK Sportsbook)
• Sky Ute
• SportsBetting.com
• SBK Sports
• Circa Sports
• BetWildwood
• BetFred
• Elite Sportsbook
• theScore Bet
• William Hill
• Superbook
• PointsBet

Coming soon to Colorado online sports betting

• Digital Gaming Corporation
• Internet Sports International
• Barstool Sportsbook
• Tipico Sportsbook
• 888Sport
• Betsson Sportsbook
• Betway
• Unibet Sportsbook

Laws for Sports Betting Online are reasonably straightforward, and for the most part resemble what exists for NJ sports betting sites (such as a legal age of 21 or over for example), however, there are some differences;

The law covers three different types of licenses:

• Master license (Cost $2000)
• Land-based sports betting operator (Cost $1,200 +$10,000 background check deposit)
• Online sports betting operator (Cost $1,200 +$10,000 background check deposit)

Each of Colorado’s 33 casinos can apply for a master license. Any approved casino can then build a partnership with a land-based operator and an online operator (or potentially use the same partner for both) and utilize one online platform.

Mile High State law has established an industry-friendly 10% tax rate and does not include either the controversial integrity fees or the use of official data that have snuck into the law in some other legal states.

The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission is tasked with overseeing and regulating the industry, and issuing and maintaining licenses.

U.S. Federal legislation has found Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) to be exempt from Federal jurisdiction on gambling as DFS has been legally assessed at the Federal level to be considered a contest of skill, not a gambling game of chance.

At the Colorado State Level, on June 10, 2016, the Governor of Colorado signed legislation to specifically permit DFS contests in the state. Fantasy contests involving college sports are not allowed and other state provisions on DFS include;

• All sites be licensed
• DFS sites only accept customers over the age of 18
• DFS site employees are ineligible to play in Colorado
• Must be subject to independent audits and take steps to prevent problem gambling occurring and offer advice and assistance if/when it does occur.

All of the major DFS sites operate and to hold real money contests in the state of Colorado.

eSports betting is now fully legal in the state of Colorado. Check with your favorite Colorado sports betting operator for wagering options.

What are eSports?

For the uninitiated, eSports is the abbreviation for ‘electronic sports’, video game play at the highest level. eSports are often played in a team format in leagues and tournaments worldwide, not on the individual level. Many video game development companies have launched their own competitions, and as streaming platform technology has improved immeasurably, it has helped turn these competitions into global events.

High-profile games such as Overwatch, CS:GO, Fortnite, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Call of Duty all have their own leagues, tournaments and competitions. Enormous eSports 50000-seater-plus stadiums are now sold out in minutes across the world.

The boom in popularity of the Professional Gaming tournaments has led to eSports wagering growing in popularity every year. In mature sports betting markets such as Canada, Britain, France and Australia, sportsbooks now offer a range of betting markets across all major eSports tournaments.

Once sports betting is legalized in Colorado in 2019, look for eSports betting at your favorite sportsbook in the state.

Horse Racing Betting is legal (both on course/track side and online) for all residents of the state of Colorado. Federal laws allow each state to determine the legality of horse racing betting and most states allow their residents to wager on horse races both Track side, Off Track Betting and online. Many of the largest horse betting websites across the United States have a presence in the state of Colorado, given the Mile-High-State’s history with the development of horse racing and horse racing betting across the United States.

Trackside Betting

Colorado currently has one live horse racetrack facility that runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for 13 consecutive weekends between May and August. No live greyhound racing currently runs in Colorado.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Colorado

Off track betting and simulcasts are offered at 10 OTB locations across the state of Colorado, during the track racing off-season (i.e. September – April). Wagering on races in Colorado and most major racing locations worldwide are all available.

Online Horse Racing in Colorado

All major U.S. online horse racing betting sites accept customers from the state of Colorado. The major online horse racing betting sites headquartered in the United States all hold licenses to offer real money bets on horses and greyhounds for Colorado residents and visitors to the state.

Visit our Colorado’s online casino gambling page for more information on the gambling laws in the Centennial State