Gaming regulators approved 32 more licenses related to Colorado sports betting, including six online operators and eight casinos.
There were 64 casino, sportsbook or online sportsbook applications submitted as of April 1. That includes all of the state’s 33 commercial casinos, 12 retail sportsbook operators and 19 online sportsbooks.
The Limited Gaming Control Commission did not touch on potentially pushing back the start date from May 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
That could still be coming, however. Dan Hartman, Director of the Division of Gaming, said discussions about the launch date “certainly will happen” during a previous meeting.
The commission meets again on April 16, which is the last scheduled meeting before the scheduled launch of CO sports betting.
New Colorado sports betting licensees
A handful of recognizable names received temporary internet sports betting operator licenses:
- Circa Sports
- Penn National‘s Penn Sports Interactive
- Roar Digital, the joint venture between MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings
- Rush Street Interactive
- Smarkets
- William Hill
Neither Roar nor Rush Street have announced their casino partners yet. But Roar and its BetMGM app will be ready to go live “with the regulators’ timeline in CO,” a spokesperson said.
Roar also received a temporary land-based license while William Hill received two for the Isle of Capri and Lady Luck casinos.
A total of 25 casinos have now received either a temporary or first master license. That includes the nine licenses awarded Thursday.
Other important licenses awarded
There were also some important vendor licenses handed out Thursday:
- Data distributor Sportradar
- Geofencing specialist GeoComply
- Payment companies Sightline and Worldpay
- Sportsbook technology supplier IGT
Which operators are ready for May 1 launch?
There are at least 10 online sportsbook operator and casino pairs that are licensed and could launch on May 1:
- Circa Sports and Century Casinos
- DraftKings Sportsbook and Twin River
- FanDuel Sportsbook and Twin River
- Penn Sports Interactive and Penn National
- PointsBet and Double Eagle
- Smarkets and Full House Resorts
- Stadium Technology and Monarch Casinos
- Stars Group‘s Fox Bet and Eldorado Resorts
- theScore Bet and Jacobs Entertainment
- William Hill and Eldorado Resorts
Other partnerships pending an internet sportsbook operator license:
- BetAmerica and Wynn Resorts on the BetBull platform with Full House
- Betfred with Saratoga Casino
Voters narrowly approved sports betting in Colorado through a referendum in November. The state legislature passed a bill authorizing it in 2019 but state law required a ballot measure because of tax implications.
