Changes to Colorado sports betting are set to take effect on August 12th. This comes after Gov. Jared Polis signed SB 131 into law back in June. The goal is to create a safer environment for Colorado sports bettors by prioritizing responsible gaming.
In a recent public statement, Gov. Polis said, “Pernicious algorithms and advertisements are increasingly preying on online sports bettors.” He added that they “must ensure there are responsible protections in place to help prevent addiction, protect underage Coloradoans, and uphold the integrity of the game and its athletes.”
Changes imposed by SB131 include the following:
The ban on credit cards is a common move, which has already been implemented by other states. Even several sportsbooks have removed credit cards as a deposit method. We even saw Sen. Elizabeth Warren write a letter to Hard Rock Bet to ban this deposit method. The goal here is to limit impulsive gambling, since funding accounts on credit could rack up unwanted debt and transaction fees.
The limit of six deposits per 24 hours isn’t exactly that restrictive, since most users only deposit funds at most once per day. However, the main target here is individuals dealing with problem gambling, so any form of restriction can be seen as a positive.
The banning of push notifications is notable because someone dealing with gambling addiction could accidentally view a prompt from a sportsbook on their mobile device. The risk there is that it could entice them to place another wager.
Preventing sportsbooks from advertising in areas where the majority of the audience is likely less than 21 years old is another step in enhancing responsible gaming, since underage gambling has become a growing problem nationwide. Last week, we saw Sen. Katie Britt emphasize the need to address this problem, so Colorado is taking a positive step in the right direction here.
For most Colorado sports bettors, these changes won’t impact their sports betting experience. Recreational users typically don’t make deposits with credit cards, don’t fund their account so frequently as six times in one day, and don’t even look at push notifications from gambling sites.
But these changes are aimed at improving responsible gaming policies to take a proactive approach to problem gambling. The goal here is to not only remove aggressive marketing policies, but also ensure that underage Coloradoans from being exposed to sports betting, since that can have a negative influence on them as they mature.
With these changes set to take effect on August 12th, Colorado is positioning itself as a leader in responsible gaming.
