Colorado House of Representatives to Debate Sports Betting Protections Bill

• The Colorado House Appropriations Committee today unanimously approved a sports betting protections bill
• The Committee approved the bill, SB 131, by an 11-0 vote and moved the legislation to the House Floor for a second reading
• Sen. Matt Ball’s (D-31) bill will place limits on account deposits, prohibit credit card deposits, and institute other protections

A Senate-approved Colorado sports betting bill designed to increase protections for sports betting customers has been moved forward to the House floor for debate.

The Colorado House Appropriations Committee today unanimously approved Sen. Matt Ball’s (D-31) bill, SB 26-131, by an 11-0 vote with no discussion. The legislation places limits on account deposits, prohibits credit card deposits, and institutes other protections for Colorado sports betting customers.

The committee advanced the bill to the Committee of the Whole, which is basically a second reading and debate on the Colorado House floor.

Instituting More Protections for Colorado Sports Bettors

If approved, the legislation will prohibit the use of credit cards for sports gambling accounts and will limit sports betting users from depositing funds more than five times in a 24-hour period.

Additionally, the legislation will prohibit mobile phone push notifications, text messages soliciting bets, and prohibit bonus payouts as promotional offers for placing an online sports bets. The legislation also allows the Colorado Gaming Control Commission to to assess a maximum penalty of $25,000 against a violator of a prohibition.

Originally, the bill prohibited all prop bets in the state. Question arose regarding the prohibition, with several legislators sharing concerns over reduced tax revenue if props were completely eliminated from the state. A fiscal estimate showed a complete prohibition of prop bets in Colorado would have reduced sports betting tax revenues by $2.4 million in 2026-27, $2.6 million in 2027-28, and $2.7 million in 2028-29.

The bill was amended to remove the controversial measure in the Senate Finance Committee. Without the prop prohibition, revenue decreases are only estimate to be about $800,000 in 2026-2027.

The final version of the Senate-approved bill also did not include a prohibition on sports betting advertisements during peak television viewing hours. The bill originally prohibited sports betting gambling advertisements in the state from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., or during the broadcast of a live sports event.

Senate Approved Measure in April

The Colorado Senate approved Ball’s legislation in late April by a 21-13 vote. Members of the Senate did not comment on the bill before sending it over to the House of Representatives.

The bill must be approved by the Colorado House of Representative prior to the cessation of the legislative session on Wednesday, June 13.