Rules outlined, licenses issued

Colorado’s gambling regulator, the Limited Gaming Control Commission, has approved nine rules that define which sporting events can be bet on, as well as the first seven casinos to receive a master license.

Master licenses have been issued to the Brass Ass Casino, Midnight Rose Hotel & Casino, J.P. McGill’s Hotel & Casino, and Double Eagle Hotel & Casino in Cripple Creek; the Dostal Alley Casino in Central City; and the Saratoga Casino and Monarch Casino in Black Hawk.

license recipients can proceed with opening a retail sportsbook and launching an online sportsbook

The Midnight Rose Hotel & Casino, J.P. McGill’s Hotel & Casino, and the Brass Ass Casino are all operated by Triple Crown Resorts.

Now that these master licenses have been approved, license recipients can proceed with opening a retail sportsbook and launching an online sportsbook. Each of these casinos paid an application fee of $10,000. They will now have to pay $125,000 to secure their sports betting license.

Several deals already in place

Since sports betting was legalized in Colorado following a statewide vote on the issue in November 2019, online operators have been entering partnerships with local casinos.

Twin River has made three casino acquisitions in Colorado in recent times. These facilities are yet to secure a sports betting license, but the company has already partnered with rivals FanDuel and DraftKings.?

Passage of rules

Regulations for sports betting in Colorado were approved with a few minor changes. One of these changes was removing the option for the commission’s director to prevent operators using certain data sources.?

There was also clarification that the sports betting rules do not supersede any state or federal laws. The minimum value for a dispute that needs to be altered to the state regulator has also been increased. 

Colorado’s road to sports betting

It was in May 2019 that Governor Jared Polis signed a bill to legalize sports betting in Colorado. However, as the state constitution would have to be amended in order to allow for legal sports betting, a public vote was required during the November elections.?

Proposition DD was given the green light by voters with approval of 51.1%. Authorities have been assessing sports betting license applications for the past few weeks. More than 50 applications have been made.