Colorado casinos could be permitted to bring new games and increase betting limits in 2021. They will be applicable in Cripple Creek, Central City, and Black Hawk casinos.

Local ballot referendum

Local Choice Colorado, a state campaign committee is currently working on a local ballot referendum for November. The committee says that it has submitted over 200,000 signatures to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office last week. The office must now verify 124,632 signatures to qualify the effort for the ballot.

Once Griswold’s office confirms that it has met the minimum requirements for signatures, the ballot question will present the citizens with an option to forfeit their legal input on ongoing casino matters. This question will also ask if Coloradans would like to leave the matters to voters in the three cities when the casinos are located in the state.

If the initiative is certified and receives a supermajority vote in the coming referendum, the three gaming towns will be able to decide if they want to increase betting limits and add additional gaming options on the properties.

Colorado sports betting market

Sports betting went live in Colorado in March this year after a 2019 ballot referendum supported expanded gaming activity and allowed both in-person and mobile betting. Colorado legalized casinos in its three towns in 1991 which includes Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek casinos. All three towns hosting casinos are former gold mining towns. There are several large casinos like the Ameristar in Black Hawk with 40 table games, 1250 slots, and a poker room. However, most are smaller casinos.

In 2008, Amendment 50 allowed voters in the three gaming towns to decide on the extension of casino operating hours, add craps and roulette and increase maximum bets from $50 to $100. With the 2020 initiatives, voters in the three towns will gain even more power. Proponents suggest that there is a need for higher betting in the state owing to the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.