[CO] Colorado Bingo, Casinos and Sports Betting [2021]

Colorado – the Centennial State – has plenty of gambling options, that almost rivals that of Las Vegas. The variety is there, but the glamour..hmmm… not so much. Having said that, online gambling options are available and sports betting is legalized!

In short:

✅ Offshore online casinos	❎ No land based casinos in Denver, nearest in Blackrock and Central City
✅ Online sports betting	❎ No local online casinos
✅ Retail sports betting
✅ Daily Fantasy Sports
✅ State Lottery

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Online Gambling

• Online sports betting commenced on 1 May 2020
• Retail sports betting started on 17 June 2020.
• Online casino gaming remains illegal for onshore operators, and therefore all online casino sites are operated from offshore licensed and regulated jurisdictions.
• Colorado State Lottery holds monopoly on lottery products with the sale of some lottery products via online.
• Commercial gaming and sports betting licenses are awarded for land based casinos and land based casinos on Indian territories.
• They are not permitted to provided online casino activity.

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Best 5 Colorado Online Casinos

Online casino activity is fast growing in popularity, particularly due to the events in 2020. Colorado players have the opportunity to play at various high quality gaming sites, that are based a strictly regulated and licensed jurisdictions. As a result, the sites that accept Colorado players can be mostly trusted. Of course, there are some online casinos which should be avoided and players should therefore be careful in their selection. Hence, we have compiled a simple short list of recommended online casinos for Colorado players.

The list isn’t compiled on rocket science built modelling. Just like any product review on the internet, we take into account the quality of customer service, the product and player feedback, weight them up and rank them.

Our Colorado recommended sites are safe and secure to play at, with no risk posed to players, both regarding legality or to player data protection.

They also all use the latest SSL internet technology, and feature secure payment methods that are common, trusted and processed by reputable financial institutions, which includes: VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Bitcoin (BTC), direct wire transfers and many other methods.

Consideration to casino bonuses weighs highly in selecting an online casino. We have therefore displayed the best casino bonuses that can be found whilst balancing other important such as previously mentioned safety and security. For ease of reference, we have listed them according to the size of bonus.

Without doubt, at the time of writing, El Royale Casino offers the best casino bonus deal. It is also one of the safest. Coupled with excellent customer service, El Royale is our top recommended online casino for Colorado players.

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Colorado Live Casinos and Dealers

Online Live Casinos with live dealers are all the rage at the moment. If you are not familiar with this concept, online casinos now offer live real time interactive game play with a live dealer video streamed to your playing device.

It is gaining a lot of players each day, especially from Colorado. Playing with a Live Dealer offers assurance for many players that the odds are fair (according to land based casino rules), plus it adds social interactive communication features that players enjoy.

In addition casino bonuses, secure and safe game play are still applicable. This is the ultimate hybrid – combining interactive gaming mixed with live dealers – providing excellent gaming excitement for many Colorado players.

If you want to learn more about the extra features of Live Casino Live Dealer interactive gaming, then click here.

Denver Casinos

Unfortunately there are no casinos located in Denver. Denver does have a few small bingo halls, lottery ticket sales and horse racing, however no casino gaming to speak off. The nearest casinos are approximately an hour drive away in Central City and Blackhawk.

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Sports Betting Sites

Retail sports betting is now available at Blackrock and Central City casinos. In addition, online sports betting is now legal.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is the exciting new comer to the gaming industry. Tradition fantasy sports required a good length of time, i.e. an entire season to reach an outcome. With DFS, as the name suggests, bets are placed on matches that can conclude within one day. In essence, based on match play.

In many states DFS was linked to sports betting laws, and therefore tied to the sports betting law fortunes of legality. For many advocates of DFS, they argue that it is a game of skill by which bettors to create a fictitious team based on real players. The performance of the real sports players in real life determine how successful the fictitious team is. As a result, it truly is those with the most “skills” will win. The importance of relying on skill is that most gambling laws permit games of “skill”, and therefore DFS should be deemed as legal.

The two largest daily fantasy sports providers are DraftKings and FanDuel. On this site, we do not actively promote daily fantasy sports as we understand that it is a game of “skill” which is being exploited by bettors who have the best risk modelling. That is, it isn’t about how well you know your sport, the sport players etc, it is very much about who has the best statistical model and who has access to the most detailed sports player data.

As someone who may be a big fan of sport, and thinking that they would have a good chance of winning money in DFS, think again.

⚠️ You are pitted against statistical modelling experts who deliberately target games that mostly have new players to a DFS match.

In fact, it has been alleged that those who are extremely good at DFS have been known to collaborate among themselves and not compete with each other. Thereby creating a sustainable winning formula shared by the experts.

We therefore want our readers to be aware that DFS is not what is appears to be. In fairness, DFS is legal in Colorado and many DFS onshore operators accept players.

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Top 3 Colorado Online Bingo Sites

Choose from our recommended online bingo sites. We have selected these sites based on our own personal experience and feedback from players.

Colorado bingo laws are stipulated under Charitable gaming state legislation. These laws provide for the licensing of non profit organizations to operate bingo games. At present, these laws do not address nor permit online bingo by onshore operators. Accordingly, online bingo sites that do accept Colorado players are based offshore (which is the same as online casinos and sports betting sites).

The recommended online bingo sites all accept players from Colorado.

They offer advanced features that include instant messaging, fun bingo games and protocols that ensures bingo participants play together in a civil enjoyable manner. Due to the social aspect of bingo, there is a cultural aspect to bingo which cannot be found with casino or sports betting. As an example, A LOT of acronyms form part of instant chat messaging. If you are not familiar with online bingo lingo, do not be afraid, learning it is one of the most fun parts!

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Gambling Laws

• Online gaming is expressly unlawful for players and onshore operators.
• Limited stakes slots and table games are lawful at land based casinos in Central, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek cities and on Indian territories;
  Retail and online sports betting is legal and regulated.
• Pari-mutuel, off-track and out-of-state simulcast wagering is lawful on horse and dog racing at licensed facilities.
• Charitable gambling is authorized for charitable organizations.

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Minimum Legal Gambling Age

• 18 for lottery, pari-mutuel wagering and charitable gaming
• 21 for casino gaming

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Gambling Taxes

• A progressive rate up to 20% adjusted gross win tax is applied on land based casino activity
• Indian reservation casino tax is determined by tribal-state compacts;
  Retail and online sports betting is taxed at 10% of gross win.

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Regulation and Governance

• Colorado Gaming Commission
• Division of Gaming for the Department of Revenue

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Gambling Legislation

Colorado Revised Statutes

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Colorado Gambling Market Developments

Background

Colorado has lawful low-stakes gaming with maximum bets in casinos of $100 per hand; Two Indian tribes in Southwest Colorado have tribe-state compacts to lawfully conduct limited casino-style gaming on reservation territories.

The Colorado Gaming Association composed a draft bill to regulate interactive poker in 2012, but this was never introduced to the legislature.

March 2016

Legislators introduced concurrent bills in the House and Senate to regulate daily fantasy sports contests. The Fantasy Contests Act defines daily fantasy sports and proposes the creation of the Office of Fantasy Contests which would be solely responsible for the regulation of the activity in the state. The bills were assigned to committees in their respective chambers following their first readings.

June 2016

State Governor John Hickenlooper signed the Fantasy Contests Act (HB1404) into law. The bill appropriates regulatory oversight powers to the Division of Professions and Occupations as well as the responsibility to determine the cost of licensing fees. The act will become effective on 1 July 2017, by which time operators must have secured a license from the Division.

December 2016

US Fantasy Sports launched their pari-mutuel sports wagering product in several off-track betting facilities across the state. Colorado became the second state to permit the activity which combines daily fantasy sports and traditional pari-mutuel pool betting.

July 2017

Scientific Games were awarded a six-year contract to supply the State Lottery with instant ticket game services with the option to extend the contract for a further two years.

February 2018

Legislators introduced HB1234 to amend the definition of gambling machines to include any device that involves elements of chance and skill and allows players to win anything of value. The legislation would effectively prohibit arcade-style gaming machines currently in operation outside of the state’s designated gambling zones.

March 2018

HB1234, which would prohibit arcade-style gaming machines which offer cash prizes outside of the state’s designated gambling zones, was passed by the House and sent to the Senate for consideration.

May 2018

The Senate voted in favour of HB1234 which consequently progressed to the Governor’s desk for final approval and enactment.

June 2018

Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne signed HB1234 into law to prohibit arcade-style gaming machines which offer cash prizes outside of the state’s designated gambling zones.

August 2018

Attorney General Cynthia Coffman submitted a formal opinion to declare the State’s constitution does not prohibit commercial sports betting, therefore, a state-wide vote and constitutional amendment would not be required to authorize the activity in the State.

April 2019

Colorado legislators put forward HB19-1327, a bill that would legalize in-person, online and mobile sports betting in the state. The tax rate would be at 10% of gross win and establish a new Gaming Control Commission to regulate the market. The bill would need to be passed before Colorado’s legislative session ends on May 3. HB19-1327 was voted through by Colorado’s House of Representatives and transferred to the Senate, where it passed that chamber’s Finance and Appropriations Committees. If the bill passes through state legislature the proposed tax rate will be put to Colorado voters to be ratified. This could take place in November, when the state holds a general election.

May 2019

Colorado’s Senate approved HB19-1327 on 3 May, with only Governor Jared Polis’s signature now required for the bill to come into law. Governor Polis signed HB19-1327 into law, but the bill must now face a public vote as a result of the new taxes it sets for legal wagering. This is likely to take place in November.

July 2019

The Colorado Lottery extended its partnership with International Game Technology (IGT) for a further four years. The agreement will run until July 2025 and IGT’s Global Solutions Corporation subsidiary will provide the Colorado Lottery with updated technology and software and a range of support services. The renewed agreement covered the roll out of GameTouch 20, the latest self-service lottery vending machine available from IGT.

October 2019

Voters in the state will be asked to approve the proposed 10% gross win tax on sports betting on 5 November 2019. If the majority of voters approve the tax the sports betting regulations as set out in HB19-1327 will take effect and the state will be able to proceed with launching a regulated land based and interactive sports betting market.

November 2019

Colorado’s sports betting plans are to go ahead, after Proposition DD narrowly passed by a very slim margin, which will allow casino operators to launch regulated sportsbooks in Colorado, in retail outlets, online and on mobile. In the end, 50.7% of voters agreed with the Proposition, and under Colorado’s betting rules, wagering can start as early as 1 May 2020.

January 2020

Colorado’s regulator announced that it has received 12 betting license applications since releasing draft regulations in November, and will imminently release a second set of draft rules. Final regulations are due to be released in February, ahead of a May 2020 launch; Twin River Casino Holdings announced an agreement with DraftKings to launch a retail sportsbook and online product, while DraftKings’ rival FanDuel has also agreed to launch an online only product with Twin River; Saratoga Casino Black Hawk has announced a partnership with Betfred USA Sports to launch a retail and online sportsbook.

February 2020

The Gaming Commission awarded seven (7) sports betting licenses to casinos in the state and gave its final approval to the regulations to govern the activity. The licenses allow operators to offer retail betting and one (1) online betting skin.

March 2020

The Gaming Commission awarded a further eight (8) sports betting licenses to take the total to date to 15. DraftKings and Fan Duel both secured licenses through their partnerships with land based casinos in the state.

May 2020

Regulated online sports betting launched in the state on 01 May with BetMGM, BetRivers, DraftKings and FanDuel going live immediately but, due to the temporary closure of Land based casinos due to the Covid-19 crisis, the launch of retail betting was delayed.

June 2020

The state’s retail sports betting market launched on 17 June following the reopening of casinos in the state. Saratoga Casino Black Hawk was the first property to launch its sports book in partnership with Betfred USA Sports.

September 2020

William Hill launched its online sports betting platform in the state on 10 September 2020.

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FAQ

Is it legal to gamble online in Colorado?

Gambling laws vary for each type of game. Online games are not permitted to be offered by onshore gaming operators. Consequently, online operators are based offshore at regulated and licensed jurisdictions. Colorado players are accepted by the offshore operators. In regards, to player legality, the laws neither explicitly declare online gambling as illegal or legal. As a result Colorado players can continue to enjoy playing online games.

What is the legal minimum age to play at online casinos?

Legal minimum ages vary from online casino to online casino, however their requirement is that the higher of the player’s jurisdiction the the online casino’s own legal minimum is taken to be the determine age limit. Therefore, for Colorado players the legal minimum age is 21.

Is sports betting legal in Colorado?

Both online and retail sports betting is legal in Colorado. You will be able to find retail sports betting venues at the casinos in Blackrock and Central City. In addition, you can place a bet at online sport books.

Is Daily Fantasy Sports legal in Colorado?

Yes, it is. DFS is legal in Colorado, with DraftKings and FanDuel accepting Colorado players.