The first Colorado sports betting licenses and permanent rules were finalized Thursday by Colorado’s Limited Gaming Control Commission.
Operators still can’t launch until May 1, the first day CO sports betting is legal in the state. All of the licenses approved are for casinos, not sportsbook operators.
The state’s regulators remain focused on prep work to make sure anyone with a license can launch on day one, a spokesperson told LSR last month.
First Colorado sports betting licensees
Seven total CO sports betting master licenses were awarded at Thursday’s meeting. Each casino gets one combined license for retail and online sportsbook operations:
- Brass Ass Casino, Cripple Creek
- Dostal Alley, Central City
- Double Eagle, Cripple Creek
- JP McGills, Cripple Creek
- Midnight Rose, Cripple Creek
- Monarch Casino, Black Hawk
- Saratoga Casino, Black Hawk
Three of those casinos – Brass Ass, JP McGills and Midnight Rose, are owned by Triple Crown Casinos. The company has not said with whom they will partner for their three Colorado sports betting licenses.
We do know two sportsbook operators impacted by today’s licensing. PointsBet, partnering with Double Eagle, confirmed last month it submitted an application in the state. Betfred will supply sports betting to Saratoga.
Other known sportsbook partners in the state
There are seven more known operators partnered with four casino operators, so far:
- Century Casinos
- Circa Sports
- Full House Resorts
- BetAmerica
- Smarkets
- Wynn Resorts
- Jacobs Entertainment
- theScore Bet
- Twin River
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- FanDuel Sportsbook
Tweaked CO sports betting rules approved
Colorado sports betting rules are now official after going through multiple workshops with industry stakeholders.
Rules 1 and 6 passed with small amendments. The biggest change was in Rule 8, which handles sports betting integrity and confidential information.
Section 8.4 was removed, which stated the director had the right to disapprove of a data source for any reason.
The commission previously approved Rule 3 on applications, investigations, and licensure in January.
