Legislators in Colorado have been quick to take the lead on a number of controversial issues such as the legalization of marijuana.
Colorado was one of the first states to legalize marijuana and since then a number of other states have followed suit.
The Centennial state was a little slow in proceeding with sports betting legislation but things have picked up speed in recent weeks and now legislators are looking at a potential launch in 2020.
There are many reasons as to why Colorado legislators are pushing forward with sports betting legislation.
Gaming analysts expect the sports betting market in Colorado to generate close to $18 billion in revenue on a yearly basis. Legislators are still not clear as to how the sports betting bill will advance.
CBS Denver
There is the option of putting the bill to vote and getting the opinion of Colorado residents. However, this could also be skipped in favour of obtaining legislature approval and moving forward without a vote according to Cynthia Coffman who is the state’s attorney general.
If the sports betting legislation is brought to a vote and if the vote turns out positive, then Colorado could legalize sports betting before 2020. However, if the vote turns out to be negative, then legislators will be forced to wait till 2020 before pushing forward with another attempt to legalize sports betting.
Given the fact that the Supreme Court repealed PASPA 1992 in May, Colorado had enough time to take action on its sports betting bill. However, it did not take the lead like it did in the legalization of marijuana across the country.
States that did take the initiative to legalize sports betting include New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware and New Mexico. There are another 10 plus states who are discussing sports betting legalization and Colorado appears to have finally joined the party.
Legislators who are pushing for sports betting legalization must also make a clear ruling on online and mobile sports betting. This is especially essential for a state like Colorado which has few casinos that are located in just a few cities. If mobile sports betting is not on the table, it would significantly limit the growth of the sports betting market as it would mean Colorado residents would have to travel to land based casinos in order to make their wagers.
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