Sports betting in Colorado reaches the governor’s desk

The Senate approved sports betting in Colorado and sent the proposed legislation to Governor Jared Polis’ desk for final approval.

US.- Colorado may soon get sports betting legalised after the state’s Senate approved a proposed bill. The piece of legislation’s fate now lies with Governor Jared Polis, who must sign it in order to regulate the segment.

HB19-1327 passed the Senate by a vote of 27-8. It wasn’t amended and finished a quick run across the Legislature, just two weeks after it entered the House.

The bill was introduced on April 18 by a cross-party group, which proposed to leave the matter up to Coloradoans to decide. Alex Garnett (Democrat) and Patrick Neville (Republican) are pushing the initiative and want locals to vote on it in November.

The proposal would set a 10% flat tax on net revenue, which must be approved by residents by Law. Furthermore, it would allow casinos to host sportsbooks and limited in-person betting, as well as mobile and online wagering.

According to Garnett, tax revenue would generate between US$5 million and US$10 million from Colorado sports betting.

Sports betting in Colorado would turn tax revenue to a Sports Betting Fund, created through HB19-1327. It will favour paying money owed to the State General Fund to cover the Commission’s start-up costs and operating expenses.

Also, it would transfer 6% to the Hold Harmless Fund. It will mitigate loss of revenue incurred by colleges, cities, counties or horse racing entities as a result of legal wagering.

Furthermore, US$130k would be allocated to the Office of Behavioural Health in the Colorado Department of Human Services to prevent and treat gambling-related harm, while the rest would be used for the Colorado Water Plan Implementation Cash Fund.