Colorado's Record $47M Sports Betting Tax Haul Renews Gambling Safety Concerns

The figures mark the strongest fiscal year for Colorado's regulated sports betting market since its launch in 2020, but they have also renewed warnings from problem gambling advocates about the pace of the market's growth.

Jamie Glick, executive director of the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado, said the state's treatment infrastructure is struggling to keep pace. 

"The treatment space can't keep up, research can't keep up, and people are being affected every single day. And so that's part of the reason why I call it a public health issue," Glick said.

Emily Washburn, an issues analyst for Focus on the Family's Daily Citizen, pointed to newer prediction-market products as a growing gray area. 

"Prediction markets can operate in any state they want, including states that have voted against legalizing gambling, and people as young as 18 can gamble on prediction markets, whereas on many online sportsbooks and online casinos, you have to be 21," Washburn said. 

She also cited research linking online betting to worse financial outcomes for some users, including lower credit scores and a higher likelihood of bankruptcy filings.

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Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance, defended the regulated market in a statement, noting that Colorado voters chose to legalize and regulate sports wagering in 2019. 

"Coloradans no longer have to rely upon illegal offshore websites or neighbourhood bookies... choosing the trust and protections of the state's regulated market operators instead," Maloney said.

Colorado lawmakers have already moved to tighten oversight of the industry this year, passing Senate Bill 26-131, which limits bettors to six deposits per 24-hour period, bans push notifications soliciting deposits or bets, prohibits targeted advertising to under-21s, and bars the use of credit cards for deposits.