The gaming control’s position is that most online gambling services are prohibited from anyone licensed in the Colorado casino industry. But now, with DFS and sports betting regulated, Colorado gambling laws are starting to evolve slowly. The Colorado Gambling Laws have become the law of the land for most residents of Colorado. Colorado is one of the leading states when it comes to profiting from the booming gambling industry and residents of Colorado will be happy to know that there are plenty of USA online gambling sites available. Horse racing betting is legal in Colorado at racetracks, off-track betting facilities (OTBs) and licensed betting sites / mobile apps for customers 18 and older. Horse racing and parimutuel wagering are regulated by the Racing Division under the Colorado Department of Revenue. Colorado is another state that starts its section on gambling laws off with a legislative declaration to set forth how the following laws pertaining to gambling are to be interpreted by the courts. It reads as follows: “(1) It is declared to be the policy of the general assembly, recognizing the close relationship between professional gambling and other organized crime, to restrain all.

Colorado is known for its progressive residents and its gorgeous natural landscape—as well as its surprisingly strict gambling laws. In fact, the state of Colorado has one of the more limited gambling industries in the United States. As such, you might do well to acquaint yourself with these rules and regulations if you are a resident of this state. By understanding the laws regarding the various forms of gambling, you can confidently engage in legal betting activities while enjoying the games that you have come to love.

Read on to learn more about the legal code pertaining to gambling in the state of Colorado. Throughout this article, we will look at these regulations from different angles to ensure that you understand just what is and what is not allowed in this state.

Land-based gambling is pretty restricted in Colorado. The state does allow pari-mutuel wagering on both horse and dog racing, which is actually a bit more extensive than some of the other states in the region. However, it has restricted the activity of casinos so that they offer only slot machines and certain table games, which are limited by state-specific regulations. Charitable gambling is also quite narrowly focused in this state, as charity functions can host bingo games and raffles. But for the residents who are interested in playing the lottery, Colorado regulates a state-run game that many players enjoy.

In terms of online gaming, the law is currently a bit vague. It is important to note, though, that changes to the law are seemingly on the horizon, as word has it that the Colorado Gaming Association, which oversees the gambling industry in the state, is working on a bill to regulate online gambling within its borders; however, the organization has not provided any solid information with this regard

Is Online Gambling Legal In Colorado

Pari-mutuel is allowed on both horse and dog racing. Otherwise, the general language used within the State of Colorado's legal code indicates that betting pools and land-based sports wagering in Colorado is not permissible.

Colorado sports fans have an embarrassment of riches living so close to one of America’s great sport cities in Denver, but many believe they cannot make bets on sports events. Luckily, that is dead wrong. With the help of legal online sportsbooks for Colorado residents, those in the Centennial State can pick up a sports betting hobby in a moment's notice.

When looking for the most pristine and accessible legal online sportsbook for Colorado residents, look no further than Bovada. This sports betting site boasts one of the sleekest and fastest performing designs out there, and it’s a good thing too. Once customers get a look at the millions of game lines and propositions available in the sportsbook, it takes some of the most powerful servers and software in the world to keep up with all the bets being placed. Colorado residents don’t have to miss out on the action as they are free to sign up with the most popular and longest running sports betting site in the nation purely at their own discretion, no wait is necessary.

Sign-up with Bovada is not only simple, but rewarding. Once a new user makes a deposit to their account using Bovada’s renowned, secure financial system, they will find that not only is their entire deposit in the account safe and sound, but that they have been awarded an additional 50% of their deposit on top in the form of bonus money to be used anywhere in the sports book. Using this promotion, Colorado residents can score an additional $250 with which to bet, an unprecedented deal in the sports betting industry.

Casinos are legal in this state, but they are much more restricted than in many of the other states in the country. The casinos are heavily regulated and are subject to restrictions on the games that they can offer—and on the way that these games are run. In fact, these venues can only offer slot machines and certain table games.

It’s safe to say that if you live in Colorado, you know what a dose of the good life tastes like. One of the only things that can make that mountain air smell any better is knowing you can participate in all of the excitement of legal gambling from anywhere you please. Luckily, with the legal online casinos indexed on this page, you can! Join the thousands of Colorado residents who are already in on the fun.

If you want the absolute best and most high quality legal casino the internet has to offer, you simply need to check in with Club World. Whether your game is slots, video poker, black jack, or any variation thereof, this fantastic legal gambling site has you covered. With certification officially from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, you never have to worry about the fairness or security of your games. Club World without a doubt delivers all the quality and assurances that a land based casino can offer to anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Do you like free stuff? Of course you do. Club World takes care of all Colorado residents by always assuring there are various bonuses and rewards up for grabs. When you join this casino, you’ll find there are always opportunities to earn money, in fact, there is a different, insane deal for every day of the week. How about 65% off all games on Monday, or 10% cash back on weekends? The beat goes on, and the savings always rack up at Club World.

Poker is legal and popular if enjoyed in a licensed, regulated setting. This includes a casino or a social game during which no profit is made from the activity's operation. Poker, as a game, is one that can be interpreted as gambling or not given the broad definition of gambling provided by the state's legal code; however, a case that spanned 2008 to 2010 established a precedent in terms of categorizing this game as gambling when a court did so and the State Supreme Court declined the appeal.

The deal of the century is coming to the Centennial State. What is it exactly? Online poker. Whereas in the past people were too scared to try it because they feared it was illegal the news is finally out that online poker has never been illegal in Colorado or any other state. This means that those who were interested can finally take the leap and see for themselves how much they can win in the world of online poker.

Where to start the online poker journey though? Perhaps the best place would be Bovada. In fact Bovada is so good that most people won’t want to leave the site. They are innovative, they treat their customers well, and they have more guaranteed tournaments than just about any other site on the web. It isn’t hard to see why Bovada is the first and only online poker room for many players.

One of the ways they show their dedication to their customer is by rewarding dedication to them. If a new player continues to play with this legal poker site long enough they will incrementally earn back their initial deposit. Once they have been playing enough they will have all of the first deposit made back as money to play or withdraw with. Then look at the fun new ways to play that Bovada brings to its users. Like the Zone, where players go on a rapid fire run across tables every time they fold. Switching up tables, switching up hands, switching up the fun. Then last but not least Bovada brings out the mother of all guaranteed tournament prize pools. It is estimated that in the course of a year that the poker room gives away more than 2 million dollars in guaranteed tournaments. If that doesn’t make a poker pro drool then nothing will.

Online gambling is not explicitly dealt with in the state's legal code; however, the Attorney General did informally opine that online gambling isn't something that is regulated by state. It is important to note that this was an informal announcement, though, and that many individuals still turn to the internet to access their favorite gambling activities.

In 2012 reports began to circulate that the Colorado Gaming Association was going to create a bill that would regulate online gaming within the state's borders. Due to the fact that such a bill is not in place, many residents have interpreted this as an indication that, currently, online gambling is safe. There are no records of individuals playing online poker being prosecuted by the State of Colorado, so the risk of engaging in online games is perceived by many to be minimal. Because Colorado has such restricted land-based gambling opportunities, numerous residents have taken to the World Wide Web to engage in the games that they enjoy.

Colorado has a fairly limited gambling industry; however, the world of online gaming offers its residents a way to participate in their favorite wagering activities without having to travel to one of the state's few casinos. While the legal regulations regarding online gambling are not cut and dry, they are general enough that many players have felt it safe to turn to this alternative.

Colorado is another state that starts its section on gambling laws off with a legislative declaration to set forth how the following laws pertaining to gambling are to be interpreted by the courts. It reads as follows:

“(1) It is declared to be the policy of the general assembly, recognizing the close relationship between professional gambling and other organized crime, to restrain all persons from seeking profit from gambling activities in this state; to restrain all persons from patronizing such activities when conducted for the profit of any person; to safeguard the public against the evils induced by common gamblers and common gambling houses; and at the same time to preserve the freedom of the press and to avoid restricting participation by individuals in sport and social pastimes which are not for profit, do not affect the public, and do not breach the peace.

(2) All the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed to achieve these ends and administered and enforced with a view to carrying out the declaration of policy stated in subsection (1) of this section.” (1)

So in addition to seeking a broad interpretation of the laws here, the goal is expressed as focusing on those profiting from gambling and not the act of gambling itself. It is worth mentioning at this point that Colorado law has a unique definition of “professional gambling,” which means the following:

“(a) Aiding or inducing another to engage in gambling, with the intent to derive a profit therefrom; or
(b) Participating in gambling and having, other than by virtue of skill or luck, a lesser chance of losing or a greater chance of winning than one or more of the other participants.” (2)

So this does not mean deriving one’s income from gambling, it means either running a gambling operation and profiting from that or cheating at gambling.

Is Gambling Legal In Colorado

The most significant part of this directive in reference to poker playing is their seeking to “avoid restricting participation by individuals in sport and social pastimes which are not for profit, do not affect the public, and do not breach the peace.”

This in itself lends itself strongly to not prohibiting gambling which falls in this category, which notably would at least seem to include both social gambling in private games and internet gambling as well, as this could easily be seen as a social pastime in the manner described.

The Actual Gambling Law Itself In Colorado

So let’s look at the actual law in Colorado as far as gambling offenses are concerned. As we look at this, we need to bear in mind the directive of not looking to interfere with social gambling.

Before we can look at the law against gambling we need to look at how gambling is defined in this state:

“”Gambling” means risking any money, credit, deposit, or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device, or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, over which the person taking a risk has no control…” (3)

This is a pretty standard definition and is set up so that betting on poker is clearly included, since poker hands are contingent at least in part upon chance.

So here’s how the law against gambling in Colorado reads:

“(1) A person who engages in gambling commits a class 1 petty offense.
(2) A person who engages in professional gambling commits a class 1 misdemeanor. If he is a repeating gambling offender, it is a class 5 felony.” (4)

Once again, keep in mind that “professional gambling” means deriving profit apart from the honest play of a player who gains through the means of luck and skill, so that would fall under (1) and would be classified as the offense of gambling and not professional gambling.

A petty offense in Colorado is the least serious of offenses, although it is still a criminal offense.

Playing Poker In Colorado

Where Is Gambling Legal In Colorado

There does seem to be some conflict here when we look at the actual law and compare it with the legislative directive we begun this discussion looking at. This directive comprises a significant and binding part of the state’s overall gambling law though and is not just there for judges to refer to when the law is unclear.

So looking at the law itself and how it reads then this would seem to make all gambling in Colorado illegal. We do know that there is legal gambling in Colorado though so this section is certainly not the last word, and is subject to modification by other provisions in the law, such as the legislative directive.

So we really need to look at both of these together to determine what forms of gambling are prohibited, and we know that the directive prescribes that we not limit social gambling, so that would presumably not be included, and social gambling may be seen as not just home games but the playing of online poker as well.

You never know how courts will actually interpret laws in practice though, as there was a case in Colorado where persons were charged with running a poker tournament, and the judge found them not guilty because poker was found to be a game of skill and therefore not gambling. (5) It is very difficult to imagine how the judge came to this conclusion as this would require there to not be any element of chance at all in it, but at least it was a friendly one to poker players.

Colorado also has provisions to regulate live poker rooms and there are a total of 10 live poker rooms in the state, in the areas of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, Central City, and Ignacio. Many of these poker rooms are within easy driving distance from major population centers such as Denver and Colorado Springs and feature a wide variety of stakes to suit the needs of a wide variety of players. (6)

Whether or not online poker is ever found to be illegal or not, and there has not ever been anyone charged with this, players from Colorado continue to play it, and there is at least some leaning toward regulating it down the road.

In the mean time if you are up for some online poker and are from Colorado, the one site I have no problem recommending to you is Ignition Poker and Casino, one of the newest and surprisingly – one of the most trusted sites out there today. It absorbed the former Bovada Poker software and features the same promos and even bigger bonuses for new players. Check the review out here!

References:

(1) Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-10-101, Legislative Declaration – Construction

(2) Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-10-102 Definitions

Is Sports Gambling Legal In Colorado

(3) ibid.

(4) Colorado Revised Statutes, 10-10-103, Gambling

(5) Poker Deemed Not Gambling In Colorado Criminal Case

States With Legal Internet Gambling

(6) All Live And Online Poker Rooms In Colorado

Legal Online Gambling Colorado

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