Despite draft internet poker legislation submitted by Colorado lawmakers late in the last session stalling, the Colorado Gaming Association said it will continue to explore the topic going into 2014.
“We had talked very late in last year’s session with some legislators who were interested in pursuing it,” said Lois Rice, executive director of the Colorado Gaming Association. “We’re still exploring it.”
In an op-ed piece in The Denver Post, Josh Swissman, vice-president of corporate marketing for MGM was quoted as saying Colorado residents have an appetite for casino-style games based on how many residents have download MGM’s myVEGAS app, although he didn’t provide specific figures. “It’s a big market for us,” said Swissman.
But a state-wide survey commissioned by Black Hawk, Colorado’s largest gambling destination, apparently says otherwise, showing that Colorado State voters did not have much interest in online gambling said Jack Lewis, Black Hawk city manager.
According to Adam Krejcik, managing director of digital and interactive gaming at Eilers Research, Colorado’s online poker market could be expected to generate an estimated $30.4 million to $37.8 million in annual revenue, three to five years following legislation. Total online casino revenue could generate upwards of $112.5 million, Krejckik said.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers published an opinion earlier this week, requested by the director of the Colorado Division of Gaming Laura Manning in July 2013. Manning requested clarity on what steps were required to authorise online gambling in Colorado and whether a gambler’s location would be determined by the physical location of the bettor or where the servers were situated.
Suthers confirmed the need for an amendment to the Colorado Constitution to effect authorisation of online gambling and said: “Under Colorado law, a bet is placed where the person placing the bet is located. However, the location of the server or other hardware or software that determines the outcome of the bet would also be relevant to the permissibility of any online gambling under Colorado law.”
“My thought and some others’ thoughts were, let’s have Colorado as close to the starting line as we can possibly be because as soon as the gates open, I think there are only going to be a few states that are going to have enough scale to make it work,” Representative Kevin Priola, R-Adams County added. Priola was among the group of lawmakers who submitted the draft legislation late last session.