1. Can You Play Online Poker In Colorado
2. Best Legal Online Poker Sites
3. Real Money Poker Online Colorado

Is it Legal to Play Poker Online in Colorado? Since Colorado considers poker to be a form of gambling, it forms part of the Unlawful Gambling Act, which was signed in 2006. This limits players from using electronic payment methods such as credit cards, cheques. BetOnline Poker - One Of Colorado's Best Legal Online Poker Sites Colorado is no stranger to the complex game of poker. For years some of the best players in the nation have hailed from the great mountains. If you’re still in the market for a fresh take to legal online poker for Colorado residents, consider an account with BetOnline. They are one of the fastest growing poker rooms in the entire nation,. Colorado Online Gambling & Casinos Legal online casinos, poker and sports betting in Colorado The gateway to the West has officially opened, as Colorado gambling debuted to residents in early 2020.

Is Online Gambling In Colorado Legal?

In May 2020, Colorado launched its first legal online sports betting sites and apps. In addition to online sports betting, Colorado permits online casinos for cash prizes, online horse race betting, and Daily Fantasy Sports. Colorado players, though, won’t find legal online casinos for real money in the state. Although this could change in the future once state legislatures see the benefits of online sports betting to the state budget.

Colorado’s Online Gambling Options

Colorado Online Casinos

Online casinos are not legalized in Colorado, but there have been past efforts by state casinos to at least introduce the possibility.

The Colorado Gaming Association, a collaboration of the state’s retail casinos, drafted a potential internet gaming bill in 2012. That bill never made a serious run at becoming law. No other online casino or poker bills have been produced by any state gaming interest since.

Colorado is home to a live casino industry with more than 30 properties. This includes six live poker rooms. With a healthy backbone of live casino gaming, Colorado could one day revisit the discussion about legal, state-regulated online casinos and poker.

Colorado Sweepstakes Casinos

Best Colorado Casinos For Cash Prizes

• Visit: Chumba Casino
• Visit: LuckyLand Slots
• Visit: Funzpoints

With no state-regulated online casinos for real money on the horizon in Colorado, players in the Centennial State do have access to sweepstakes casino sites like Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots.

Sweepstakes casinos offer a variety of traditional casino games. This includes slots, blackjack, baccarat, craps, and video poker. In order to operate legally, the games at these sites play as mini-sweepstakes games.

At Chumba Casino, “Gold Coins” are available for purchase. With every purchase of Gold Coins, the buyer also gets an amount of “Sweeps Coins,” which can be redeemed for cash prizes. The Gold Coins can only be used in play money games.

Players use Sweeps Coins (SC) for Sweeps Coins games, which are separate from the real money games.

VGW Malta Limited operates Chumba Casino and sister site Global Poker, both of which are available to players in most states.

Colorado Sweepstakes Poker

Best Online Poker For Cash Prizes

• Visit: Global Poker

Global Poker is an online poker room that operates with the same sweepstakes model as its sister site Chumba Casino. Global Poker is available to players in most states. It is by far the biggest, highest-traffic sweepstakes poker room.

The Gold Coins/Sweeps Coins purchase model from Chumba Casino is used on Global Poker too. For example, a $10 Gold Coins package is good for 50,000 Gold Coins for play money games, and the buyer also gets SC 9 as a gift.

That SC 9 can be used to play the Sweeps Coin poker games on the site. Global Poker offers these Sweeps Coins games in traditional cash game and tournament format, at a variety of stakes.

Players can also look for offers to get a small amount of SC for free to get started on Global Poker.

Colorado Online Sports Betting

Colorado voters legalized live and mobile sports betting in November 2019. The passage of Proposition DD set the groundwork for a potentially massive sports betting industry in the state.

Online sports wagering launched in Colorado on May 1, 2020. When this new market reaches its full potential, Colorado will host a number of mobile betting options that will rival any US state.

Just about all of the biggest names in the sports betting industry are partnering with Colorado casinos to offer mobile sports wagering. Those names include FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, FOX Bet, Barstool Sports, William Hill, BetFred, PointsBet, and many others.

The number of different online sportsbooks available to Colorado bettors could go as high as 20 when all is said and done.

Retail sportsbooks are allowed in Colorado. By law, Colorado’s commercial casinos are confined to the towns of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk, and Central City. Colorado’s legal sports betting expansion, though heavily focused on mobile and online wagering, also carves out plenty of opportunity for retail sportsbooks. Many big-name brands have launched retail sportsbooks since the state legalized sports betting.

For more information, see our comprehensive Guide To Colorado Online Sports Betting.

Online Horse Racing

Like in most other states, online horse race betting is legal in Colorado. Legal mobile horse race betting, in general, has been around longer than any other form of online gambling in the US.

Can You Play Online Poker In Colorado

The Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) permits online horse race betting. It allows players to use mobile horse race betting apps like TVG, and BetAmerica to bet on horse races throughout the country.

Best Legal Online Poker Sites

These two mobile horse race betting apps are available to Colorado bettors, as well as most of the US. Colorado is also home to 12 off-track betting (OTB) venues and one operating live horse racetrack, Arapahoe Park.

See our comprehensive Guide To Online Horse Racine And Betting In The US.

Online Lottery

The Colorado Lottery mobile app does not have an option to purchase lottery tickets directly. The app provides information like draw game winning numbers, geolocation directions to the nearest lottery retailer, and a way to scan instant win and draw tickets to see if they are winners.

There are currently no plans in place to establish an online purchase feature on the app. The recent gaming expansion in the state, however, suggests that a future online lottery could someday be a reality.

In-state drawings include Colorado Lotto Plus, which is a bi-weekly drawing with seven-figure jackpots. Colorado also participates in multi-state lotteries like MegaMillions and Powerball.

Daily Fantasy Sports In Colorado

Colorado was among the first states to regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS). Former Governor John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1404 into law on June 10, 2016. The law made Colorado the fifth state to pass legislation formally authorizing DFS.

Colorado’s DFS laws have a few unique provisions. DFS operators with less than 7,500 users don’t need to apply for a license. They still must register with the state.

Industry leaders FanDuel and DraftKings far surpass that number of users in Colorado. The state, therefore, required them to apply for licenses through the Division of Professions and Occupations.

Real Money Poker Online Colorado

Colorado is one of 21 states to regulate DFS, although FanDuel, DraftKings, and other DFS operators operate in numerous other states without legal DFS regulations in place.

Timeline For Gambling Regulation In Colorado

Here are some of the key dates in the history of Colorado gambling:

• 1948 – The state legalized Pari-mutuel horse race and greyhound race betting. The Colorado Racing Commission is established to oversee the industry. The first race took place in 1949. The Colorado Racing Commission, along with the later established Division of Racing Events (1983), are the governing bodies that regulate Colorado’s horse racing industry to this day.
• 1983 – The Colorado Lottery started selling instant win tickets in January. The lottery added drawing games later in the year.
• 1990 – Casino gambling legalized when Colorado residents vote Initiative 4 into law. Initiative 4 is known as the Colorado Limited Gaming Initiative. The constitutional amendment passes with more than 57 percent of votes. The initiative allowed retail casinos to operate from the towns of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk, and Central City. The language of the original law allowed for maximum bets of $5. The casinos could only operate slot machines, blackjack, and poker.
• 1991 – Senate Bill 91-99 is signed into law. The law allows for interstate simulcasting of horse racing (the predecessor to mobile horse race betting apps), as well as off-track betting (OTB) parlors.
• 2008 – The citizens of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City passed Amendment 50. The Amendment allowed the cities’ casinos to raise the maximum bet to $100, add more games, and extend hours to 24-hour-a-day operations.
• 2019 – Colorado voters approve Proposition DD to legalize sports betting in the state. The bill permits the state’s casinos to add retail sportsbooks on the property, as well as to offer online sports betting. Land-based casinos are permitted to partner with existing technology brands to develop online sports betting platforms.
• 2020 – Legal sports betting launched on May 1, 2020.

Check out our Guide To Online Sports Betting In The US.

History Of Colorado Online Gambling

State voters passed Proposition DD on November 5, 2019. The law legalized retail and mobile sports betting. This event set Colorado on a path to become a force in the US sports betting market.

Both land-based and online sports betting in Colorado launched on May 1, 2020. State casinos went right to work after Proposition DD passed. They applied for sports betting licenses through the Colorado Division of Gaming.

Arrival Of Top Brands In Colorado

Colorado’s new sports betting laws allow for casinos to collaborate with strategic technology partners. With the Centennial State set to become a major sports betting hub, many of the industry’s top brands have already launched in Colorado.

Those brands include FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, and BetMGM, among several others. Other industry leaders such as William Hill, FOX Bet, and PointsBet plan to launch in the state soon.

Colorado’s population of nearly six million, as well as its status as a major sports city in the US, makes the state a prime market for sports betting.

All four major U.S. sports leagues have teams located in Denver. The Colorado Rockies (MLB), Denver Broncos (NFL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), and Colorado Avalanche (NHL) all call Colorado home.

Though Colorado’s expansion into sports betting is still in its early days, it’s set to give a major boost to the local casino industry and the overall state economy

The Future Of Gaming In Colorado

Proposition DD does not include legislation to bring online casino gambling or poker to the state, but that could change in the future.

Colorado’s casino industry attempted to introduce an online poker bill in the past. In 2012, the Colorado Gaming Association (an association of state casinos) attempted to send an online gaming bill to state legislators for consideration. The bill never went to vote.

Colorado’s Live Gaming Market

History Of Live Gambling In Colorado

Pari-mutuel horse and greyhound race betting were the first forms of legal gambling approved in Colorado. Both went live in the state in 1949. The Colorado Lottery began in 1983.

The modern era of gambling in Colorado began in earnest with the 1990 passage of Initiative 4. Known as the Colorado Limited Gaming Initiative, this bill amended the state constitution to allow casino gambling in the mountain towns of Cripple Creek, Central City, and Black Hawk.

The original language of Initiative 4 only allowed casinos to offer blackjack, poker, and slots to be offered. The law limited maximum bets to only $5. Amendment 50, passed in 2008, marked a big step in the evolution of Colorado’s casino industry. The Amendment raised max bets to $100. The casinos could also start to offer craps and roulette on casino floors.

Future Growth Of Colorado Gaming

As of 2021, more than 30 commercial casinos are located in the three mountain towns.

Further growth is to come for these properties, as sports betting was legalized in Colorado with the passage of Proposition DD in November 2019. The bill allows for Colorado casinos to operate retail sportsbooks on property, as well as online sports betting platforms.

Facts On Colorado Gambling

Colorado Live Casinos At A Glance

The Centennial State is home to more than 30 casinos. Aside from a pair of tribal casinos, all Colorado casinos are required by law to operate from within the mountain towns of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk, and Central City.

These three locales all have origins as gold-mining towns from the 1800s. They were on the verge of becoming ghost towns by the late 20^th century.

State voters approved the Colorado Limited Gaming Initiative in 1990, with the bill signed into law in 1991. That bill brought casino gambling to the three towns. It revitalized those areas and reinvented them as a hub for live casino gaming in the state.

Colorado Casino Locations

Black Hawk and Central City are within two miles of each other. Both towns are about 40 miles west of Denver. Cripple Creek lies about 110 miles south of Denver. Both of Colorado’s tribal casinos are in the southwest part of the state.

Success Of Colorado’s Casinos

The state’s first full year of casino operations (1992) saw more than $180 million in adjusted gross proceeds (AGP). Revenue grew in each of the next 10 years. In 2002, Colorado’s casinos brought in more than $719 million. That’s nearly a 300 percent growth in that 10-year span.

Since 2002, the total AGP for state casinos has remained steady. The two biggest revenue-earning years in the history of Colorado’s casino industry occurred in 2017 ($828 million) and 2018 ($838 million).

By law, only the towns of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk, and Central City can host commercial casinos. As of 2021, those casinos, along with a pair of tribal casinos in southwest Colorado, bring the total number of state casinos to 33.

Until 2008, casinos in the three towns only offered slots, poker, and blackjack under the law. Maximum bets were limited to $5 and casinos had to close from 2 am to 8 am daily.

In 2008, voters from the three mountain towns passed Amendment 50, which raised the max bet to $100. The Amendment also added craps and roulette to the casino floor and allowed for 24 hour-a-day operations.

Other Gambling Offerings In Colorado

Colorado Lottery

The Colorado Lottery was one of the first forms of legal gambling available in the state. The lottery started with scratch-off instant win games in January 1983. The Colorado Lottery expanded to include drawing games in April of the same year.

Colorado is also a part of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The state started to offer purchase options for Powerball in 2001 and MegaMillions in 2010.

The state overhauled the in-state Lotto drawing game in 2019. The newly branded Colorado Lotto Plus raised the ticket price to $2, while also improving game odds and the number of ways to win.

Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery go to the state’s public parks, recreation, and outdoor interests, as well as the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) fund. The lottery has directed more than $3.4 billion in revenue to these causes since its inception.

Proposition DD doesn’t include the legalization of online lottery, which various other states legalized.

The Colorado Lottery offers a mobile app, with up-to-date information on upcoming drawings and winning numbers. The app includes a feature for scanning tickets to see if they are winners. It also includes geolocation software to locate nearby lottery retailers.

Horse Racing

Colorado is home to one major horse racetrack, Arapahoe Park in Aurora. Pari-mutuel betting is the oldest form of legalized gambling in the state. It’s been legal since 1949.

At least 12 off-track betting (OTB) facilities operate in the state. Major online horse race betting apps like TVG and BetAmerica permit betting on both domestic and international horse races.

More Resources On Colorado Gambling

Colorado Online Gambling FAQ

To gamble inside a casino, place a bet on a mobile sports betting app, or place any kind of horse racing bet, players must be at least 21 years old. The minimum age to purchase lottery tickets is 18.

People under the age of 21 can go inside a Colorado casino. They are not permitted to gamble, drink alcohol, loiter on the casino floor, or interact with casino gaming operations in any way.

Yes. Colorado legalized casino gambling in 1991. By law, the Colorado government limits legal commercial casino operations to the mountain towns of Cripple Creek, Central City, and Black Hawk.

The only exceptions to this law are a pair of tribal casinos in the southwest part of the state. Outside of the tribal casinos in Ignacio and Towaoc, for a land-based casino to be legal in Colorado, it must operate from within one of the three approved mountain towns.

Yes, in some forms. The state legalized online sports betting with the passage of Proposition DD in November 2019. The state’s first legal, regulated online sports betting platforms launched on May 1, 2020.

The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission regulations online sportsbooks that operate in partnership with retail casinos. Players age 21 and over can wager on online sportsbooks if they are located within the state’s borders.

TVG and BetAmerica offer online horse race betting on mobile apps.

In general, the IRS levies a federal tax on gambling winnings at 25 percent for wins of $5,000 or more. The casinos provide players with the proper forms needed to report to the IRS in cases of wins of this size.

Colorado’s state tax is 4.63 percent. For wins less than $5,000, it is the responsibility of the player to report gambling winnings.

No. The Colorado Division of Gaming and Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (CLGCC) regulate Colorado’s live casinos.

These are government agencies that oversee Colorado’s gaming industry. This ensures the state’s casinos are bound by law to offer fair, regulated games.

All table games operate exactly as presented and are not rigged. Slot machines in Colorado must pay out 80 to 100 percent over the life of a machine, by law.

The minimum age for sports betting in Colorado is 21. This applies to both online and retail sportsbooks. You cannot register for an account, place bets, deposit, or withdraw unless you’re 21 or over.

The same state gambling laws that apply at a land-based casino apply to the state’s regulated, legal online sports betting platforms as well.

Colorado’s online sports betting platforms use payment methods that are similar to those accepted in other regulated states.

These methods include ACH/eCheck, prepaid debit card, bank-issued credit/debit cards, PayPal, eWallet, and wire transfer. It also includes deposit/withdrawal at the casino cage of the land-based casino that operates an online sportsbook.

The Colorado Division of Gaming (CDG) and the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (CLGCC). These government agencies oversee Colorado’s casino industry.

These state agencies regulate mobile sports betting sites under their jurisdiction. The agencies award licenses to operate to all legal online sportsbooks.

Any Colorado online gambling site not approved and licensed by the CDG and CLGCC is operating illegally.

Yes. The CDG and CLGCC regulate all of Colorado’s legal online sportsbooks. Because of this, bets on a state-regulated online sportsbook come with the same level of safety as they would at a legal retail casino.

Colorado’s state-regulated online sportsbooks will all carry a seal of approval from one or both of these agencies.

Land-based casinos, in collaboration with strategic technology partners. The state’s retail casinos, which are permitted to partner with technology companies, will offer all of the state’s legal online sports betting sites.

For example, FanDuel Sportsbook will operate in Colorado in partnership with the Golden Gulch Casino. Likewise, FOX Bet partnered with Lady Luck Black Hawk in Colorado.