SB26-131 Protects Coloradans from Financial, Emotional, and Social Harms of Problem Gambling
DENVER, CO – Yesterday, Governor Polis signed SB26-131, the Online Problem Gambling Act. Sponsored by Sens. Matt Ball (D-Denver) and Byron Pelton (R-Sterling) and Reps. Steven Woodrow (D-Denver) and Dan Woog (R-Erie), SB26-131 establishes common-sense guardrails to curb impulsive online sports betting and protect Coloradans from the financial, emotional, and social harms of problem gambling.
Yesterday’s signing caps months of advocacy, expert testimony, and bipartisan negotiation in response to the harms Coloradans have experienced since online sports betting was legalized in 2019:
- Coloradans now wager more than $6 billion on sports each year – up from $1 billion just a few years ago.
- Calls to the state’s gambling addiction hotline jumped nearly 50% in the first year of legalization alone.
- 73% of Coloradans say legalizing sports betting has made problem gambling worse.
SB26-131 honors voters’ choice by allowing the legal sports betting market to continue while strengthening consumer protections and public health safeguards. The law:
- Restricts the use of credit cards to fund sports gambling accounts.
- Limits an individual to no more than five deposits within any 24-hour period.
- Restricts advertising designed to induce problem gamblers.
- Requires data collection on the prevalence of problem gambling in Colorado.
- Creates higher fines for violations and stronger protections against underage gambling.
“After months of work alongside recovery advocates, health care professionals, and families across Colorado, SB26-131 is now law,” said Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver. “This law puts guardrails on an industry that has ballooned in Colorado to more than $6 billion in annual wagers in just a few years. That growth has come at a real cost – to families’ financial security, to kids’ wellbeing, and to the integrity of the games we love. I am proud we can deliver these protections to Colorado families this session.”
“Problem gambling does not stop at the city limits. It shows up in rural communities, small towns, and households across Colorado,” said Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling. “This law respects the choice voters made in 2019 while finally putting basic consumer protections around an industry that has grown faster than anyone anticipated. This is the right step to take for young people across Colorado.”
“Yesterday, Colorado made clear that protecting families from the harms of unregulated online sports betting is not a partisan issue. It is a public health issue, a consumer protection issue, and a Colorado issue,” said Rep. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver. “With this law, we’re holding a multibillion-dollar industry to the same kind of basic safety standards we expect of any other product on the market.”
“This law is not about telling Coloradans how to live their lives. It’s about making sure the companies profiting from sports betting in Colorado are held to basic standards – particularly when it comes to protecting kids and the most vulnerable,” said Rep. Dan Woog, R-Erie. “Coloradans across the political spectrum have been asking for these guardrails, and the bipartisan coalition that came together behind SB26-131 reflects how broadly that demand is shared.”
“Yesterday’s bill signing is the result of months of advocacy from Coloradans who refused to accept that an industry generating billions in revenue could continue operating without basic public health guardrails,” said Joshua Ewing, Executive Director of Healthier Colorado. “SB26-131 is now the most comprehensive set of online sports betting protections in the country. We are deeply grateful to Sens. Ball and Pelton and Reps. Woodrow and Woog for their bipartisan leadership, to Governor Polis for his signature, and to the coalition of recovery advocates, families, health care professionals, and Coloradans across the state who carried this law across the finish line.”
Learn more at sportsbettingimpact.com/about.