The Colorado election night on Tuesday, Nov. 5, ended with Proposition DD narrowly passing with a margin of 50.73%. Proposition DD authorizes sports betting within Colorado for adults over 21.
A vote was required to pass this proposition under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights since this bill proposed a new Colorado tax. This passed proposition is set to become law in the coming 2020 fiscal year (May 2020).
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This new sports betting tax will take 10% of the revenue from all legal sports betting. Proposition DD enables the state to collect up to $29 million per year and will distribute the revenue into three different categories.
Proposition DD allows Colorado’s 33 casinos to apply for licensing. If accepted, casinos will now be able to take wagers on professional, collegiate, motor and Olympic sports.
$130,000 will be attributed to gambling addiction services, $960,000 will be given to the Hold Harmless Fund. The fund is a grant that takes applications from entities that receive tax revenue from traditional gambling and horse racing, such as casino cities and counties, as well as community colleges. To access the fund, these entities must prove that they have a decrease in profit from regular gambling. The remaining $14.9 million will be used to complete statewide water projects.
The Colorado Division of Gaming and the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, the current governing bodies that oversee and regulate the state’s casinos, will be given responsibility for regulating sports betting allowed by Proposition DD.
This passed proposition calls for celebration since it was a bipartisan-backed effort, with both Democrats and Republicans in the Colorado State Senate excited about the tax revenue that Proposition DD brings to Colorado’s ongoing water projects.
Colorado has become the 19th state to legalize sports betting, continuing the states’ progressive legislative process.
Jack Taylor can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @j_taylr.
