Preparations for the May 1 launch of legal sports betting in Colorado are in full swing as the state Limited Gaming Control Commission issued on Thursday the second batch of wagering licenses to operators interested to enter Colorado’s nascent market.
DraftKings was among the operators to be granted a temporary license from the state gambling regulator. The company teamed up with Twin River Worldwide Holdings in January to enter the Colorado wagering space.
The gaming commission at a special meeting held Thursday approved several of the 50-plus sports betting license applications submitted by interested sports betting companies and land-based Colorado casinos.
The regulator held its Thursday meeting specifically to process some of the applications it has received.
Dan Hartman, Director of the Gaming Enforcement Division at the Colorado Department of Revenue, said yesterday that “the commission has additional business to address in our other meeting” and that as investigators carry out and complete background checks on the license applicants, the regulator would bring those up for review in special meetings to ensure that it has “ample time” to get through all applications.
Colorado residents approved last November Proposition DD authorizing the provision of sports betting at retail facilities and through digital channels. The legislation tasked the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission with processing license applications.
The regulator said previously that it would initially issue 33 retail and online sports betting licenses.
DraftKings’ Expansion Campaign Continues with Colorado License
As mentioned earlier, DraftKings was among the companies to nab a temporary license for the provision of sports betting services during yesterday’s special meeting of the Colorado gambling regulator.
Colorado will be the sixth state where DraftKings would introduce its DraftKings Sportsbook brand to. The operator teamed up with Twin River as its sports betting partner in the state. The partnership and its license from the gaming commission enable DraftKings to operate a betting app available statewide.
Under its deal with Twin River, DraftKings will also run a retail sportsbook at the casino operator’s Mardi Gras Casino in Black Hawk.
Of their temporary license in Colorado, DraftKings Chief Legal Officer R. Stanton Dodge said that they are excited to be granted the license and look forward “to soon being able to provide sports fans in Colorado with our top-rated mobile and online sportsbook product.”
Score Digital Sports Ventures, the operator behind the theScore Bet app, was also granted a license by Colorado regulators during the Thursday meeting.
Ameristar Casino, Lady Luck Casino, and Isle Casino Hotel in Black Hawk were issued master licenses yesterday. These licenses authorize the land-based gambling venues to run brick-and-mortar sportsbooks on side as well as to partner Internet gambling companies to operate online sportsbooks across desktop and via wagering apps.
Source: DraftKings, Ameristar and more granted sports betting licenses in Colorado
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