Colorado has begun the approval process for sports betting licences, passing the applications of seven operators in the state.
Each licence will permit retail sports betting, plus one online skin for this vertical.
Entering the market via agreements with casinos
Sorgata Casino in Black Hawk is one name to have its licence approved. Since Betfred USA partnered with Sorgata in January, the operator can offer sports betting at this particular casino.
Meanwhile, Australian operator Pointsbet shall be permitted to likewise at Double Eagle Casino.
The other accepted licensees are Monarch Casino in Black Hawk, Dostal Alley Casino in Central City, and J.P. McGill’s Hotel & Casino, Midnight Rose Hotel & Casino and Brass Ass Casino – all in Cripple Creek.
J.P. McGill’s, Brass Ass and Midnight Rose are all operated by Triple Crown Resorts.
Waiting on approval
US iGaming giants DraftKings and FanDuel have both agreed deals with Twin River Casino in the state. But despite acquiring three Coloradan casinos recently, Twin River still waiting for the green light to operate here.
Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts and theScore have signed up with Full House Resorts and Jacobs Entertainment Inc. (JEI) respectively. However, like Twin River, neither casino has been granted a sports betting licence yet.
Details of the final Colorado sports betting legislation
Each licence applicant had to pay an application fee of $10,000. If this was approved, they were obliged to part with another $125,000.
The finalised sports betting bill had a few tweaks, compared to the original proposal. One of these was the removal of Section 8.4. In this, the Commission Director had been given permission to stop operators from using some data sources – on a case-by-case basis.
Moreover, regulations shall not ‘supersede’ any federal or state laws. They also increase the minimum value of a dispute in which a licensee must inform the regulator.
One thing which hasn’t yet been set is the annual sports betting operating fee. However, a sports betting tax rate of 10% has been created.
Governor Jared Polis approved legislation to legalise sports betting in Colorado last May. However, it had to go through a referendum before coming into force.
The people of Colorado voted in favour of the vertical, in November 2019, with 50.7% participants choosing to pass the law.
