Colorado lawmakers are debating Senate Bill 26-131 which is a new proposal that would result in placing further limitations on sports betting and advertising of these throughout the state.
The scheme will tackle the increases in gambling addiction side-effects while still allowing for the continuation of funding to Colorado water projects.
Senator Ball who is one of the bill sponsors called the proposal a chance for the state to impose safeguards on an excessively growing sports betting market.
He was quoted by KKCO 11 News as saying:
It’s not about prohibition. I have been the commissioner of the fantasy league since 2010. Nothing in this bill would get in the way if someone wants to bet $500 on the Broncos to win on any given Sunday. Senate Bill 131 is really about reasonable guardrails because online sports betting is out of control and causing a lot of harm, and I think we need to do something.
The measure imposes numerous restrictions on licensed online sports betting operators. One of the limitations is a clause that prohibits them from accepting more than five separate deposits from the same individual in a 24-hour period.
On the other hand, operators would not be permitted to restrict deposit amounts or betting frequency solely on the basis that a bettor is winning regularly unless such behavior is deemed suspicious or is an indication of a gambling problem.
Besides, companies would be prohibited from sending push notifications or text messages to Colorado account holders that urge them to place bets or make deposits.
The General Assembly pointed out that the sports betting market has been growing rapidly since 2019 when it was first legalized. They also mentioned that online wagering in Colorado is set to top $6.3 billion by 2025, which is a 130% increase from 2020.
Besides that, the lawmakers pointed out that calls to problem gambling hotlines have increased and sports betting has been identified as a source of financial problems as well as social issues.
Advertising, Reporting, and Regulatory Measures
The bill aims to wipe out sports gambling promotions that offer a higher payout as well as those that use words like ‘bonus’, ‘no sweat’. Also, they wouldn’t be permitted to demonstrate in the ad how to place a bet.
Besides that, sports betting ad broadcasts would be prohibited from 8 am to 10 pm and also during live sports events.
The bill which has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee, among other things, disallows a third-party marketer receiving a payment based on the number of new customers that were obtained, the total bets amount, or the bets’ outcomes.
Furthermore, from the year 2028, there will be a necessity for online operators to provide the Division of Gaming with their annual transaction data, after which the Division will be held responsible for producing a statewide report every three years, with the first report scheduled for 1 January 2029.
Additional rules would prevent operators from providing proposition bets related to athlete performance or specific events during the game.
The proposal would also ban the use of credit cards, either directly or indirectly, for making sports betting deposits; violation of such a rule may be treated as a class 2 misdemeanor, and the offender may be fined up to $25,000.
Furthermore, the amendment would ensure that the annual transfers from the sports betting fund to the state’s water plan implementation cash fund will never be less than the amount of the previous fiscal year, provided that the funds are sufficient.
The sponsors present the bill as a sensible adjustment to Colorado’s sports betting regulations that will allow the state to keep up with the growing engagement of sports fans.
