Sports Betting in Colorado

Colorado Online Sports Betting Basics

Age

You must be at least 21 years old in order to engage in sports betting in the state of Colorado. This applies for both online wagers, and those placed at retail sportsbooks. This is par for the course for casino and sportsbook participation in other U.S. states.

Location

To place a bet on sports with a Colorado online sports betting site you must be physically located within the state. Online sportsbooks implement geo-location software into their platforms in order to certify that this requirement is met. While a plug-in is required for desktop sites, mobile apps can automatically use the GPS capabilities of the mobile device to meet this requirement.

Of note, you do not have to be a resident of Colorado, you just have to be physically present within the state’s borders at the time you place a wager. You can sign up for an account and even make a deposit without being in the state.

Registration

Registration varies per site, but generally follow the same procedures. The first step is to create a profile. This will typically involve entering personal information such as name, email address, mailing address, phone number, and the last four digits of your social security number for identity verification and taxes.

Banking Options

Once the registration process is complete, users will have the option to fund their account. Rest assured, all available methods are both safe and secure. Banking options vary by site but the most popular choices include:

Active Colorado Online Sportsbooks

Online sports betting officially began in Colorado on May 1, 2020, with four sites going live. Each retail casino in the state is eligible to host one online sports betting skin. Some gaming companies own more than one property, like Century Casinos, which is why you see them represented multiple times.

Current, active online bookmakers in the state include:

Fanatics

Fanatics Sportsbook is now live in Colorado! Fanatics replaced PointsBet in CO and elsewhere after purchasing the company in 2023.

ESPN BET

ESPN BET launched in November 2023 with betting available in several states. Few brands in sports carry the name recognition of ESPN, and expectations are high for the official sportsbook of the brand. As part of the initial launch, ESPN BET has a great promotion offer for new customers.

DraftKings

DraftKings Sportsbook is live in Colorado. The DFS powerhouse announced an agreement with Twin River on January 27th, 2020, confirming its long-suspected presence in the Centennial State. As is in other states, renowned tech provider Kambi powers DraftKings in Colorado.

Just days before its agreement with DraftKings, Rhode Island-based Twin River Worldwide Holdings closed on the $51 million purchase of three Colorado properties including Golden Gates, Golden Gulch, and the Mardi Gras Casino where DraftKings will handle retail sports betting.

FanDuel

Like its DFS rival, FanDuel announced its Colorado partnership, also with Twin River, on January 27th, 2020. FanDuel uses one of Twin River’s licenses in order to accept wagers in CO. Having already established itself as a leader in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other regulated markets, FanDuel is poised to experience similar success in Colorado.

For the time being FanDuel does not plan to open a retail sportsbook in Colorado, instead focusing solely on online betting.

BetRivers

Rush Street Interactive, the parent company of BetRivers, has been awarded a sports betting license in the state and has partnered with the J.P. McGills Hotel & Casino in Cripple Creek. BetRivers helped open the Colorado sports betting industry, accepting its first bets on May 1, 2020.

BetMGM

BetMGM is live in Colorado! MGM and GVC Holdings came together to form ROAR Digital, which is now active in Colorado. BetMGM is the company’s primary online sports betting platform. BetMGM is partnered with the Midnight Rose Hotel & Casino in Cripple Creek.

Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook, in conjunction with Eldorado Resorts, is accepting bets in Colorado. Caesars Sportsbook serves as the sponsor for the retail sportsbook at both Eldorado properties in the state: Isle Casino and Lady Luck.

In addition, Caesars launched its online sportsbook (formerly William Hill), for those that don’t want to visit the casino, on September 8, 2020. It opened just in time for the NFL season. The Caesars/William Hill combo brings decades of valuable experience to the Colorado online sports betting market.

BetMonarch

BetMonarch was the first online sportsbook to launch in Colorado after the state’s first, initial wave. Betting began on on May 11, 2020, with a fully functional mobile sports betting app for iOS and Android devices. The app is named after its retail casino sponsor, the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk.

SBK Sportsbook

On September 4th, 2019 Smarkets announced a long-term partnership with Full House Resorts to bring its online sports betting product, under the SBK Sportsbook name, to both Colorado and Indiana. SBK Sportsbook CO officially went online on June 4th, 2020.

UK-Based Smarkets is known primarily in Europe as a betting exchange, although it has recently rolled out traditional sportsbook offerings in the United States – like SBK.

Sky Ute SportsBook

Through a partnership with tech provider USBookmaking, The Sky Ute Resort in Ignacio, CO, launched its own sports betting platform. The Sky Ute SportsBook offers online wagering statewide, officially beginning on June 9th, 2020.

The Sky Ute Casino Resort is a tribal facility, owned and operated by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. It is located on a reservation in the southwest corner of the state, close to New Mexico. It is important to note that the Sky Ute Sportsbook is not licensed by the state of Colorado, so any problems with the app cannot be investigated or resolved by the state regulatory agency.

Circa Sports

In February 2020, Vegas-based Circa Sports announced a 15-year agreement with Colorado’s Century Casinos. While no retail experience is expected for the state, online betting began on July 1st, 2020. A website and sports betting mobile apps are both available throughout Colorado.

Further expansion to other states is also possible for Circa Sports, having stated its intentions to be a multi-state leader within the industry.

BetWildwood

BetWildwood, another local Colorado name, debuted its online sportsbook app on July 21, 2020. It is able to accept wagers throughout the state using its own master license, via the Wildwood Casino. ISI Race & Sports is the tech provider for the popular CO sportsbook.

Elite Sportsbook

Elite Sportsbook has made Colorado its second state of operation, following its home state of Iowa. The site runs on the GVC platform, and is partnered in Colorado with the Red Dolly Casino. Online betting with Elite Sportsbook began on August 12, 2020.

Betfred

In January 2020 it was announced that Betfred would throw its hat in the Colorado sports betting ring through a partnership with the Saratoga Casino Black Hawk. The Betfred online sports betting platform began accepting bets on September 10th, 2020.

Betfred is the world’s largest privately owned retail bookmaker. The UK-based operator currently runs more than 1,500 retail betting shops and an industry leading mobile app in its home country. Betfred brings more than 50 years of experience in international sports betting to the state of Colorado.

SuperBook Sports

SuperBook Sports, which runs what is widely accepted as the biggest sportsbook in the world, the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, is live in Colorado. Superbook Sports agreed to terms with the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk to serve as both the mobile and retail sportsbook sponsor.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook is home to one of the industry’s largest handicapping contests, the SuperContest. The company has confirmed it intends to export the popular draw to Colorado, pending approval from the Colorado Division of Gaming.

Play Maverick Sports

Play Maverick Sports is the sportsbook offshoot of Maverick casinos, which has a small but significant presence in Colorado. Maverick owns three casinos, all of which offer retail sports betting and qualify for an online skin. Maverick’s online presence is unremarkable, with a sportsbook that offers standard IGT pricing but little else to separate it from the sea of legal sportsbooks in CO. Still, it’s worth checking out, if nothing else because you might find some value in its prices compared to the bigger operators. 

Betway Sportsbook

European standout Betway has partnered with Digital Gaming Corporation to bring its brand to the United States. Colorado is its first state of operation, bringing with it a betting sheet that’s absolutely stuffed with options. Its presence in CO is made possible through a license agreement with the Famous Bonanza Casino in Central City.

Bally Bet

Bally Bet is a solid sportsbook backed by Bally’s, which is taking the sports and sports betting world by storm. Bally’s has been through several iterations, but it is currently a rapidly growing sports media company that owns regional sports networks (RSN) throughout the country. These RSNs broadcast local professional teams, which leads to an interesting synergy between the broadcast and the Bally Bet sportsbook. Look for Bally Bet to continue to grow in Colorado and elsewhere as its quality sportsbook is discovered by more and more sports bettors.

Tipico

The first German-based sportsbook to enter the Colorado market, Tipico marks the 25th sportsbook to go live in the state. Its brand is well-known throughout Europe, and the company hopes to attract new bettors to its intuitive, well-built sportsbook. To increase brand recognition, Tipico partnered with Gannett, publisher of USA Today and many other media outlets.

SI Sportsbook

888 Holdings, a global sports betting company, partnered with the owner of the iconic Sports Illustrated brand to create SI Sportsbook, a new sportsbook that will integrate sports betting content across SI’s multiple media platforms. The sportsbook will also use SI’s content and insights to offer a unique platform for bettors.

bet365

As quite possibly the largest sportsbook in the world, bet365 has done surprisingly little here in the American market. It operates in just one state (New Jersey) and has no real plans to compete with the larger operators here. In fact, bet365 has been licensed to operate in Colorado for several months and finally decided to launch on September 1, 2022, just a week before the NFL season began. Either way, bettors in Colorado will appreciate the easy-to-use bet365 app and its competitive pricing on sports across the world.

ClutchBet

ClutchBet has officially arrived in its second market after launching in Iowa in 2022.

The Australian-based sportsbook has plenty of markets and bet type options for users to explore on the up-and-coming sportsbook app. ClutchBet is a great alternate for players who want to look past some of the other bigger books.

Betr Sportsbook (coming soon)

Colorado Retail Sportsbooks

Like their online counterparts, brick-and-mortar sportsbooks are new for Colorado. Proposition DD, the important measure that passed in November 2019, laid the groundwork legislation for both types of sports betting.

Colorado bettors aren’t short of in-person gaming options with more than 30 casinos in the state, many of which already have retail betting facilities.

Betting Options in Colorado: We’ve Struck Gold

In April 2020 Colorado approved and announced its sports betting catalog, which includes an incredible 48 different sports and events. To engage with those 48 sports, there are more than 1,000 specific bet types. NCAA prop bets remain off-limits, however.

On top of standard American sports, Colorado bettors can wager on eSports, Gaelic Games, floorball, handball, snooker, darts, beach volleyball, badminton, water polo and more. Winter sports including those at the Olympics and the X-Games are also on the betting sheet.

How US Online Sports Betting Efforts Began

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act, which was followed shortly by the legalization of online sports betting in New Jersey.

Since then, either through grandfathered laws or newly approved legislation, over two dozen states and Washington, D.C. have implemented or are poised to begin some form of legalized sports betting.

The Prospect Of Colorado Online Sports Betting Started With The Gold Rush

Colorado’s history with gambling is rooted in the Gold Rush, where unregulated casinos sprung from the boulders and were stocked with suspicious characters who took aim at prospectors and the gold they brought out from the hills. It was from these camps that many of Colorado’s cities were born.

One such town was Leadville, Colorado. Founded by mine owners, Leadville had more than 150 gambling establishments and was home to famed gamblers such as Poker Alice, Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday. Gambling was so prevalent it was considered by many to be a profession as revered as clergyman or doctor.

In 1822, Brown’s Saloon, technically in Wyoming, but along the border with Colorado and Utah serving as a watering hole – the first actually – doling out “firewater” (whiskey and brewed beer at room temperature). 

It also was a gambling parlor where fur trappers would wager their small fortunes playing poker and faro, a late 17th-century French card game. 

It would be 169 years from that meager start that a more lawful gambling landscape would emerge, making the way for nearly 40 casinos operating in Colorado.

Colorado’s Gambling Timeline

1983: The Colorado Lottery is established with its first scratch cards. It’s first drawing was April 23, 1983. 

1991: There was a long gap between illegal establishments to legally sanctioned casinos. In three locations, Black Hawk, Cripple Creek and Central City, small-stakes casinos were OK’d to open. The maximum stakes were $5 on slots, poker and blackjack. A curfew of 2 a.m. also was imposed. Almost simultaneously, in the southern portion of the state, two Ute tribes opened casinos using the state guidelines as well.

1995: Both the Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes entered into compact with the state of Colorado to conduct casino-style gaming on reservation land. They added Keno.

1999: The Bingo-Raffle Advisory board, which license charity games, is created. Charity games include “Las Vegas” or “Monte Carlo” charity casino events as well as bingo and raffles and are only open to non-profit organizations to raise funds for their good causes.

2001: Powerball became available as part of the Colorado Lottery.

2005: Online gambling is covered by existing laws, according to the state Attorney General, saying it falls under the blanket definition of gambling, and is not legal. 

2008: Amendment 50, which allows residents of the three licensed casino towns to vote on extending the facilities’ operations to around the clock (beyond the 2 a.m. curfew). Table limits also increased to $100 and revenues pledged to Colorado’s community colleges. Craps and roulette are added to list of available games.

2009: Mega Millions was approved as part of the Colorado Lottery.

Sports Betting Comes to CO

2019: On November 5th, 2019, Colorado voted in favor of Proposition DD. The Legalize Sports Betting with Tax Revenue for Water Projects Measure passed by a narrow margin of less than 3%. With more than 1.5 million votes cast, less than 50,000 votes separated the two sides. Revenue from the 10% tax on sports betting will be used to create and fund the Water Plan Implementation Cash Fund within the state.

2020: Legal sports betting officially launched in Colorado on May 1st, 2020.