Sports betting has always been considered one of the hot topics across the United States, but its levels of popularity ever since the beginning of this year have surged. Prior to the decision of the US Supreme Court states have been weighing their options for potential legalization, but only after the official ruling was fact did they have the chance to make a move. When it comes to the state of Colorado, however, the process of regulating a potential sports betting field could prove to be longer compared to the rest of the states working on such.
This May brought major change to the gaming field which took it by a storm and completely changed its direction of development. With the groundbreaking decision to overturn one of the oldest bans across the United States, SCOTUS made it clear that it is willing to welcome change and work towards the introduction of new gaming offerings if they have the potential to bring benefits to the field.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was issued in 1992 and ever since then, it has been imposing a ban on wagering on sports events. As a result of this, the field has not seen a considerable development throughout the years, while illegal sports betting was proliferating across the states. The state of Colorado has a different approach to introducing changes to the gambling field.
This factor is expected to make the potential work towards sports betting harder than it has been for some of the states currently working on their sports wagering framework. Essentially, every change in the existing gaming regulations within the borders of the state has to be subjected to a voting through the community. In addition to that, the state lawmakers would also have to come up with the appropriate regulation for the field, along with the taxes necessary for it.
Colorado State Braces for Sports Wagering Regulation
Even if the state is willing to make a move and introduce sports betting in a legal manner to the region, the window for proposals is now closed since the Colorado General Assembly recently witnessed the final day of its annual session. This leaves the state with the only remaining option to wait until the beginning of 2019 when it is set to convene once again. This is when the authorities will have the chance to discuss the potential sports betting field.
As for the next mandatory step, residents would have the chance to vote whether or not gambling on sports events should be introduced and under what terms in the fall of 2019. For the time being, the state has the chance to think through the possible outcome of every decision and how it could affect the existing gambling field and the general well-being of the community. There have been opinions stated in the past, that sports wagering could receive green light on a state level without the mandatory voter approval.
It could be recalled that about 25 years ago the community gave its approval to casino venues across the state with the help of an amendment to the state constitution. In the past there have been issues among the different gaming factions of the state, s back in 2014 Mile High Racing and Entertainment made an attempt to bring racetrack gaming to a wider audience. This resulted in a considerable political battle which brought tension to the industry.
Colorado was in no rush to introduce sports betting while there was still the opportunity to do so and this is probably for the best since rushed decisions could end up crippling the field and making it undesirable for gambling operators in general. Now it has several months left for consideration which would have to be utilized by the state lawmakers.
